"But you just got home." Tony frowns. His mother, Maria, bends down and gently places a kiss on his forehead.

"I know, sweetheart. But we'll be back very soon." She says.

"Like, a day soon? Or a week soon?" He asks.

"We won't be gone more than a week, son." His father, Howard, says as he adjusts his tie in the mirror in the hallway. He looks down at Tony, giving a soft smile. "Think you can be brave like Captain America and guard the house for us?"

Tony lets out a soft scoff, rolling his brown eyes. "Jarvis is here. I don't need to be like Captain America."

"And a very special someone."

Tony flips around, a grin growing in his face. "Aunt Peggy!" He cheers. He runs to her, tightly hugging her legs. "I didn't know you were coming."

"I made your father promise to keep it a secret." She says, gently kneeling on the ground. She runs her hands through his dark hair, brushing it out of his eyes. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

Tony happily giggles, looking up at his father and mother.

Maria gently smiles at him as Howard places a hand on her lower back. "Well, we really should get going, sweetheart. We don't want to miss our flight." He says, urging her to the front door.

"Miss your flight?" Peggy scoffs, rising from the floor. She wipes off her knees and adjusts her skirt. "If I recall correctly, you told me you'd be the one flying today."

"You're correct." Howard says. "I suppose I should be more specific. We'll miss our meeting over in Europe."

"Then I guess you should get going. Don't worry about me and Anthony. We're going to have a grand time." She smiles as she tussles his hair.

"Goodbye, Tony." Maria says, placing kiss on his cheek.

"We'll be back soon, son." Howard says. He mumbles something into Peggy's ear then the couple exit the house. Once they're gone, Tony lets out a loud sigh.

"Something wrong, Anthony?" Peggy asks.

"I don't know." He says, shrugging his shoulder. "Also, people don't call me Anthony anymore. I'm Tony now."

"Ah. I should have known. You've grown so much since I've last seen you." She says, following him into the living room. He picks up a few toys from the ground, messing around with them.

Peggy, wanting him to enjoy himself while she was here, grabs a toy and joins in. "What's your 20, Captain?" She asks, picking up a soldier.

"Captain? I'm not the damn captain! I'm the general." He fires back.

"Language, Tony." She gently scolds, playfully glaring at him.

"Sorry." He blushes. He regains his composure, grabbing the action figure. "I'm your general and you need to treat me with respect, soldier." He says with a deep voice.

"Yes, sir. But, where is the captain?" She asks, pretending to look around.

"I don't know. Probably doing something stupid." Tony says with his general voice, shrugging his shoulder. "Now, back to business. We need to collect all of the rubies before the bad guys do. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Peggy replies.

"Good. Now, follow me." He says. They travel across the room. Tony had already built a cave for them out of blankets and couch cushions. "The rubies should be here somewhere."

"I hope they're somewhere nearby. I'm scared of the dark, general." Peggy says, trying not to laugh.

"What kind of soldier are you?" Tony asks, flipping his guy around to look at Peggy's. "We're from America for Pete's sake! We aren't afraid of the dark." He says.

"Yes, sir." She says. Finally, they reach the back of the cave.

Tony lets out a gasp. "What? Captain America? You're the guy who stole all of the rubies? But why?"

Peggy drops her jaw in surprise as Tony continues on. "That's right, general. I stole the rubies because I want to be rich. I wanna be the richest man alive. Wah-ha-ha!" He evilly laughs.

Before Peggy has anytime to question Tony about has happened, Jarvis peeks his head in. "Lunch is ready, soldiers." He jokes.

"Alright!" Tony cheers, crawling out of their cave. "What are we having?" He asks as they follow Jarvis to the kitchen.

xxx

"It's time for bed, Tony. You need to put down your electric device." Peggy says as she sits on the edge of his bed.

He groans, rolling his brown eyes as he places it on his side table. "I don't wanna go to sleep."

"I know. I know. But it's required for little boys so they grow up big and strong." She says, tucking him under the covers.

"Sleep is boring." He playfully whines.

"Well, if it were fun, we'd do it all the time and never get anything done, would we?" She softly chuckles as she tickles his sides, making him squirm in laughter. She gently places her hands on her lap. "Would you like a story before bed?"

"I guess." He shrugs.

She takes a deep breath, deciding how to start her story. "There was a small boy from Brooklyn. He wasn't very big and he didn't have any muscles at all. Though others encouraged him not to, he--"

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard this story a million times. He becomes Captain America and dies in the ocean for no reason. Now he's all my dad talks about. Big whoop." He cuts off, pouting.

Peggy lightly gasps, shocked by his behavior.

"What?" He asks.

Peggy sits up, her lips tight. "Steve died saving us. Now, you may have heard this story before but you can't just talk about him like that. That'd be like me telling you that all of those soldiers that died in WWII died for nothing. That their lives meant nothing. Do you understand, Anthony?" She snaps, her feelings hurt. She couldn't believe the disrespect Tony had just shown for her and for Steve.

Tony sits up, a frown on his face. "I didn't mean it like, Aunt Peggy." He begins. "I--I just mean that I hear about him all the time."

Peggy hums, her voice softer.

Tony pouts, crossing his arms. "That's all Dad ever talks about. I'm sick of hearing about Captain America and Steve Rogers. He never talks to me about anything or anybody else. It's like he doesn't even care about me or that he wishes I was Captain America instead of me."

"Anthony, that's not true." Peggy immediately says, touching his shoulder. He looks at her, tears in his brown eyes. "Your father loves you very much. I know it might be hard for you to see. But he does. Yes, Steve was a big part of our lives, but you are greater."

"Even if I don't have some magic frisbee or super strength?" He asks with soft sniffs.

"Especially if you don't. I want you to make your own path. Don't become something you think your father wants. Become something that you want."

"Can I do something with this?" He asks, picking up his latest invention.

"Yes, darling." She smiles. He chuckles, holding it in his hands. He was happy to know that he didn't have a shadow to live in in her eyes. He could just be Tony.

"Can I tell you a secret, Aunt Peggy?" He asks, his brown eyes meeting her's.

"Of course." She whispers, leaning close to him.

He places his lips to her ear. "I wanna be greater than my dad ever was."

She chuckles, pulling away. "And you will." She grins. She kisses his forehead then turns off his lamp. "Goodnight, Anthony."

"Goodnight, Aunt Peggy." He says, crawling under his blankets.

"I love you very much." She adds before closing his door. He closes his eyes, listening to her say that she loves him over and over again. She was the only one who had ever told him that as a child.

Everything from that night stuck with him.

Her telling him to be himself. Him saying that he was going to be greater than his father. Her telling him she loved him. All of these things were never forgotten.

The only part he ignored was her advice on sleep.

It was still pretty boring to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Soooooo I tried to make a cute bb Tony short story for my BFF verystarkastic because she's having a rough day. Leave some nice comments for her to help cheer her up!!