"Are you sure you have everything?" Nick Fury asked for what seemed like the millionth time, but was probable the tenth.
"Don't worry, Dad. I'll take care of 'Tasha," Clint Barton, Nick's adopted son insisted, while giving his younger sister a hug.
"Yea, Daddy. Me an' Clint'll beat up any bad guys who try and be mean to 'Tasha, like Captain America!" Phil Coulson, Nick's other adopted son, added with enthusiasm.
"Why can't I go to school, Daddy?" Maria Hill, one of Nick's adopted daughters asked.
"You're too little, baby. Next year you can go, but 'till then you have to stay at home with me. I need someone to look after me while everyone else is at school," Nick replied with a smile, tickling Maria's tummy and making her giggle.
Throughout the whole conversation Natasha Romanoff stayed quiet. She had been adopted from Russia not too long ago, and although she spoke English perfectly, when she was nervous she tended to slip back to her mother tongue. Because of this, she got very quiet when she was nervous or worried.
"You alright, Tasha?" Nick asked softly, kneeling downs so he was at eye level with the five-year-old girl.
"Da, uh, yea. I am okay," she replied awkwardly.
"Don't worry, Tasha. You're gonna love school. And Clint and Phil's friend, Thor, his brother's going to be in your class. That's one person you know before you even join," Nick said reassuringly. He didn't want Natasha to isolate herself from everyone, so he was glad that she would already know someone.
"Alright now, everyone into the car."
"Bye, Papa," Natasha said shyly. She had been living with Nick and the others for almost a year, but even though it had only taken her a few weeks to stark calling Nick "Papa" she still felt a bit awkward saying it instead of "dad" or "daddy" like the others.
"Bye Tasha. Have a nice day, baby, and be good for me," Nick said, waving goodbye to the back of Natasha's head.
"So, Maria," Nick said, turning to his youngest daughter "Tell me, do you like hot chocolate?" Maria nodded her head enthusiastically while Nick strapped her back into her car seat.
"Oh, good, because I was thinking we should do something special for you."
"Okay class, my name is Ms Munroe and I'm going to be your teacher this year."
Ms Munroe was a young woman, maybe twenty-twenty five. She had short, white blonde hair and had a kind smile and eyes that twinkled. It was obvious that she loved teaching from the way she looked so affectionately at the children whom she had only just met.
Natasha thought that she looked very pretty and very kind.
"I want to get to know all of you, and I want for you to feel like you know me, so we're going to go round in a circle and everybody will say their name and something special about themselves," she continued, beckoning all the children to sit around her in a circle.
"Okay, I'll go first. My name, like I said, in Ms Munroe, and I can balance spoon on my nose, who wants to go next?"
A young boy with gelled black hair, who Natasha recognised as Clint's friend's brother raised his hand shyly.
"Um, my name's Loki, and, um, I'm good at magic tricks."
"Cool! Who's next?"
A small boy with neatly combed blonde hair raised his hand slightly and, after a bit of prompting from Ms Munro, began to speak.
"I'm Steve and when I'm big I wanna join the army like my mom and dad."
"Well I'm sure the army will be lucky to have you. Next."
The class had only nine students, so they got through everyone nice and quick, although Natasha had a feeling she would mix up some of the girls, who all seemed to have very similar names. She knew it would be almost impossible to try and remember that Jane liked science, but Jan liked drawing, and Jessica liked gymnastics. Finally it was Natasha's turn.
"My name is Natasha, and I love ballet," she said shyly, staring at her hands as she sat cross legged in the circle.
"Great, maybe you can do a dance for the end of year show?" Ms Munroe said in a way that was both hopeful, but also said "The choice is up to you".
"Maybe," Natasha replied, although she had no intention of dancing in and school show.
"Well now that we know each other, I'm afraid it's time to do some work," Ms Munroe said, and had it not been their first day she was sure they would have groaned, but as it was they all walked back to their seats.
"Now, does everybody have a blank copybook?"
In the classroom across the hall Clint Phil were doing a similar activity with their class full of six-year-olds, but the difference was that everyone knew each-other already. Phil was showing his friend Thor his new Captain America pencil case, which he was very proud of and Clint was talking to his friend Logan about a comic book they had both read over the summer.
"Alright class, settle down," the teacher said sharply. The whole class fell silent at the authority in her voice; she was new to the school and therefore no one could be sure how much they could mess around in class, yet.
"My name is Ms Danvers and I will be your teacher this year. I must warn you all, don't misbehave in my class, or you will regret it, but if everyone behaves all week I'm sure a small party every Friday could be arranged." She spoke with the air of someone who had trained in the military, and that should be a requirement to becoming a teacher because the class stayed quiet while she explained some of the class rules, and the consequences of breaking them.
Nick waited just beside the school gates at five-to-three, with a tired Maria clinging to his back. She hadn't had a nap as Nick had taken her with him when he went grocery shopping and her half closed eyes, and the fact that one of her pigtails had fallen out, earned him a few sympathetic looks from fellow 'moms' collecting their children.
"Careful, baby," he said softly, catching her as she slipped of his back and cradling her to his torso, letting her head rest on his shoulder.
Before long the irritating sound of the electric school bell filled the yard and children began rushing out to their parents. Nick looked out for Natasha but he didn't see her and he began to worry. Phil ran over to him and began chattering away about what a friend of his had said about something, and Nick could see Clint with a group of boys who were probably in in his class, but still no Natasha.
He wasn't panicking exactly, but eyes scanned the yard, searching for the tell-tale shimmer of orangey-red of her hair and at last he saw her.
She was surrounded by two or three girls and they all appeared to be talking happily.
"Bye bye," Natasha said cheerfully to her new friends before greeting Nick, her brothers and her sister, equally cheerfully.
"Someone had a good day," Nick commented.
"Yea, it was really fun, and I made loads of new friends."
"That's great. You can tell me all about it on the way home."
Just a bit of AU fluffyness for you guys, inspired by some 3am tumbling (blogging, not gymnatsics)
It will probably stay a one shot, but if I get enough responses I might write more.
It was inspired by a pic I saw on tumblr but I can't find it, but it was very adorable.