"Dada! Dada!" Eighteen-month-old Peter Stark cheered, standing in his crib as Tony walked into his nursery. The toddler began hopping up and down, holding onto the crib bars for support.
"Good morning!" Tony greeted him, picking him up and snuggling his baby briefly. "I think somebody needs a diaper change. It's stinky in here."
Peter placed his hands on Tony's cheeks and began giggling.
"How did you get to be so cute? Huh?" Tony spoke in baby-talk, blowing raspberries on the baby's cheek as he carried him to the changing table. After changing Peter's diaper and dressing him in an AC/DC onesie that matched the t-shirt he was wearing, the pair went into the kitchen.
"We're going to go get donuts for breakfast. How's that sound?" Tony asked the baby in his arms as he picked up the backpack he used as a diaper bag and his keys.
"Donuts!" Peter repeated happily, clapping his hands. Tony smiled at him, his heart once again bursting with a happiness he'd never imagined possible for himself.
Tony put Peter into his car seat and drove to Dunkin Donuts. He played the Frozen soundtrack on the ride and adjusted his rear view mirror so he could watch Peter smile and wiggle around in his car seat.
When they got there, Tony put on the backpack/diaper bag and held onto Peter's small hand as they walked into the restaurant. After getting donuts and milk for Peter and a breakfast sandwich and coffee for himself, Tony took Peter to a table and sat him down in a highchair beside him.
Tony watched Peter eat with a smile on his face the whole time. How could he have gotten so lucky as to have this little boy in his life? This giggly little brown eyed, curly brown haired boy with chocolate frosting and sprinkles all over his face.
"How's that donut, buddy?" Tony asked as he finished his own food.
"Yummy!" Peter exclaimed, before slamming his hands on the table. "Another!"
Tony couldn't help but laugh as he set the second donut in front of Peter. "I think you've been spending too much time with Thor."
"Thank you, Dada!" Peter smiled when Tony gave him the donut.
"You're welcome, Pete." Tony chuckled, watching as Peter played with the frosting. After taking a few bites of the donut, Peter licked the frosting off.
"Is the frosting the best?" Tony asked him, snapping a picture of his baby on his phone.
"Oh yes." Peter smiled before putting the donut down and taking a drink of milk. "All done."
"You're all done?"
"Yes Dada."
Tony threw their trash away before using a baby wipe to clean the frosting off of Peter's hands and face. "Should we go play at the park?"
"Yeah!" Peter cheered as Tony picked him up.
Tony loved playing with Peter at the park. The way he would giggle when he went down the slide and the smile that was glued to his face while on the swings made Tony's heart nearly explode.
"Catch me, Dada!" Peter called from the top of the slide. Tony smiled and stood at the bottom of the slide, ready to catch his son.
"Alright, slide down buddy." Tony encouraged him, watching as his toddler slid down with a giggle. He caught the boy and picked him up into the air, swinging him around and making him laugh more.
It was the simple days like this that made Tony feel like he had a purpose in the world besides science. Seeing his son smile and laugh because of him gave him the feeling that he was doing something right. Even if it was just one thing, he was doing it right. Because that one thing was something he could never afford to mess up.