Maria Anne was now a proud three-year-old, as she'd cheerfully reminded every person she'd ever met. Her birthday had just been the week before, and her annual check-up was due for – oh wow, it had really been a week already – today. Tony actually felt – almost – well, if Tony Stark, Iron Man, genius billionaire no-longer-playboy philanthropist could feel such a thing – nervous.

But the doctor's office wasn't really a doctor's office after all. It was just Bruce's lab a floor down. Honestly, as if Tony would trust anyone else with his daughter's first visit to the doctor's as a part of their little family. Bruce was her uncle, after all. She'd only been adopted the year before, and her other checkups had been taken care of at the adoption agency, before she'd even met her new fathers.

It had gone fairly well, at first. Maria Anne had happily let her Daddy sit her on the cool metal table, swinging her legs, looking around, and wondering why she was in Uncle Bruce's lab. She didn't really know what a 'lab' was, but that was what everyone called the room she was in, and she knew that she wasn't supposed to be in it without permission. She knew that Daddy also had a 'lab' of his own, but his was a lot different, and usually had a lot more dirty metal things in it. Papa had told her that she wasn't allowed to touch those things, even though she wanted to know what they were.

Then Uncle Bruce had walked in, and Maria Anne was delighted. Uncle Bruce was her favorite uncle, although Papa also told her that you weren't supposed to pick favorite family members. "Unca Brooth!" she yelled with that little lisp of hers, smiling toothily at the man.

"Maria Anne!" Bruce had smiled back. He tapped his chin, pretending to think while looking at his notes. "Now, how old are you again?"

"Thuh – three, Unca Brooth!" she replied, holding up her hand. Tony smiled and shook his head, reaching out to bend the little girl's thumb and pinkie down. She looked inquiringly at her fingers and then giggled. "Oopsie – tank yoo, Daddy!"

Tony wondered, as Bruce went through the routine with Maria Anne smiling and laughing the whole time, how he could have been nervous.

Then it was time for the vaccination.

"Okay, sweetie, this is going to pinch a little," Bruce said soothingly, glancing over at Tony. Tony moved closer and grasped the little girl's hand loosely. He couldn't remember being afraid of needles when he was young, but Bruce had warned him that many were. They were prepared, just in case that might happen.

Obviously not prepared enough.

As soon as the needle was in sight, Maria Anne screamed. Squirming away from the monstrous thing, she wrenched herself away from her Daddy's grasp and fled. Wide-eyed, Tony and Bruce took a second to get over their shock before chasing after her.

The little devil was very good at wriggling into small spaces quickly, only to pull herself out just as fast when it seemed like one of them would catch her. Hide-and-go-seek gone wrong, Tony thought as he tried and failed to grab hold of the screeching child.

"Maria Anne, it's okay!" he called desperately. "It's only going to feel like a pinch, you won't even remember it!"

"Pinthing's ruh-ood!" Maria Anne shrieked back as she took refuge behind a large lab table stuffed in the corner. "Papa told me so!"

Tony groaned, mentally cursing his husband's forties' mannerisms. "Come on, sweetheart, it'll be over in a second," he coaxed. "You can have ice cream for dessert."

"Nuh-uh!" she refuted, shaking her head firmly. Nothing would get her to budge.

This continued on until Tony was completely exhausted and Bruce was – well, he couldn't tell if Bruce was trying to hold back laughter or the Hulk. "How 'bout we get the Capsicle in here," Tony finally said. Bruce slapped his forehead.

She wouldn't come out for Steve, either.

An hour later, they ended up reaching underneath the lab table and forcefully giving her the shot. She screamed, and cried, and almost made herself sick.

When she was finally put down for her nap, Tony collapsed face-down into the couch. Without even taking his eyes from the cushions, he pointed at Steve and announced in a muffled voice, "You're taking her next year."