Metal Heart, Pure Love

Adoption

When I got home, most of your party guests had already left, having heard the good news. I opened the front door to see Pepper and Thor were still having a row about high school, but they left when they noticed I was watching them. I went into the living room and Tony was on his phone. "Hey, I'm back," I said, kissing his forehead from behind the sofa. He put his arm around my neck and brought my head closer to his. "Look," He pointed at his phone screen. He had found the local adoption center's website. "I mean, if you're serious about this then I can email them and make an appointment?" 

I sat beside him and put my head on his chest. "Of course I'm serious. We're one step away from perfection." Tony laughed and raised an eyebrow. "Are things not perfection already?" I shook my head and kissed him on his cheek. "Why do I put up with you Brucy?" He sighed. I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Because I'm just so wonderful, you could never live without me?" Tony rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately, that's true." He moved some curls of my hair from my face and looked at me. "I hope I never have to live without you." He muttered. I moved my hand up to hold the side of his face, entangling my fingers around his ear. Together, we lent in and kissed each other. "So how soon can we go to this adoption center?" I asked. I felt Tony grin against my mouth. "I'll find out, just as soon as I do this," He mumbled, picking me up and taking me into the bedroom.

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We made our way into a cramped office where an infuriated woman was sat at the desk. "Take a seat Mr Banner, Mr Stark." We did as we were told. I exchanged a look with Tony and he was thinking exactly the same thing. It felt like we were being told off by a teacher. Scary. "Why do you want to adopt?" The woman asked us. Tony looked at me, totally clueless as to what he should say. "Well," I said. "We have our own flat, secure jobs, and a supportive group of friends. Our closest friends actually had a baby just last week." The woman nodded, her eyes staring at us from the rim of her glasses. 

"You two aren't married, correct?" We both nodded. She sighed and made a note of the form in front of her. "We're engaged, and plan to get married later this year," Tony said randomly. Again, the formidable woman made a note on the form. "How long have you two been a couple?" She asked. I thought for a moment, and replied, "Roughly three years, nearly four now." Another note was made. "If your application form is accepted, what specifics would you be looking for in a child?" 

Ideas rushed through my mind of finding a child that looked like me or Tony. Then I felt disgusted at myself. These children were all given up by their parents for one reason or another. We should be able to love any child, no matter their looks. "A baby boy would be our only preference," I concluded. Tony found my hand behind the desk and squeezed it tight. He agreed with me. The woman made some more notes for the next half hour, asking us questions about our plans for the future, our immediate family and even our health. Eventually, she excused herself and went to talk to someone else.

"Do you think we'll be approved?" Tony asked me. It took a lot of my courage not to laugh because usually he was the 'tough' person in our relationship. He was the one who joked around and had a few pints whilst watching the football whilst I did the taxes and looked up cushions to match our manky sofa. We weren't a stereotypical butch and feminine gay couple, but Tony was more macho than me. Except now. "Yes, of course they will. I don't know how long it will take though. You head stories of this process taking a good couple of years." Tony groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Now I'm here, I just want to meet our little baby boy." I rubbed his back and the woman came in a minute later. A man followed closely behind. "This is Mr Mathews. He will take you to our baby unit and show you some of the newborns that your case is approved for." Tony stood up and kissed the woman on her cheeks. "Thank you so much." The woman smiled uncomfortably and Mr Mathews led us down some corridors to a room where about thirty new born babies were lying in incubators. 

"Oh tony," I whispered. They all looked so precious and fragile. "Take a look around," Mr Mathews said. "The nurses can tell you information about any of the children here, but let us know if you make a connection. It's best if you feel genuine affection towards the child because it makes the bond stronger." I nodded a thank you as Tony had already wondered off. He made his way down one of the aisles quickly, whereas I took my time looking at each baby in turn. Each and every one of them was adorable; I didn't know how I was going to be able to choose. I felt bad as well, like I was going to be ignoring the other babies by choosing just one. "Is it likely that all these newborns will be adopted?" I asked.

Mr Mathews nodded. "Yes, don't worry. All of these children will be adopted or fostered within the month. We have a high adoption rate at the center so no child remains with us for long." I sighed with relief, not feeling so selfish anymore. Suddenly, Tony called me over to an incubator tucked into the corner of the room. "Look at him," He muttered. I looked over the bundle of blue and felt my heart twinge as his cherub face. He even had a few thick curls of black hair. Tony tried to give me his puppy eye look, but he was so happy that his smile was taking over. "Ok, I agree." I kissed him on the cheek and went to talk to Mr Mathews. 

"Is it ok if we proceed with the little boy in the corner?" I asked. Mr Mathews called voer a Nurse to get the information and talked me through the next process. They would a few home visits and also assess our capability of looking after a baby. Then we would have some more home visits after we brought him home to make sure everything was ok. I nodded at every word and signed the forms to say me and Tony were happy to adopt the baby boy. "Now he just needs a name," Mr Mathews said.

I looked down the room to call over Tony, but I lost my words when I saw him holding the tiny bundle of cloth in his arms. And there, just above, was a tiny hand holding tight to Tony's finger. He looked up and same me, a few tears falling down his cheeks. I walked over to him and pulled down part of the cloth so I could see the baby's face again. "He has your nose," I said. Tony laughed and stroked the baby's hand with his free fingers. "And he has your hair." I nodded and hugged him, carefully avoiding the baby. "What do you want to name him?" I asked. Tony looked startled for a moment but thought properly for a while. "Alfie." He said. 

I went back to Mr Mathews and said he would be called Alfie. "What shall I put as his surname?" It hit me that because Tony and I weren't married, this was an actual issue. But still, we hadn't discussed changing our names. "Stark. Put Stark as his surname. And his middle name will be Banner." Mr Mathews nodded and left us to bond with the little boy. A nurse took the three of us into a room adjoining the babies' room which had a couple of sofas, a cot, and some toys in. "We will be outside if you need any help." One of the nurses said. One remained with us for safety reasons, but she wasn't needed.

Tony was a natural. The baby boy, Alfie, didn't wake at all whilst in Tony's arms. "Little Alfie," Tony mumbled to the infant. "You're our little Alfie. And you know what? We will never let you go. We will never abandon you, or fight you, or ever stop loving you because you're ours and we're yours."