This idea… well, I don't know how it happened, but here it is. I only have to clarify that Trip, Hunter, Ward, Fitzsimmons and Skye are children in this story, but nothing happened to them; it's an AU where Coulson and May adopted them when they were little kids.
Useful information on the kids' ages: Trip is 13, Hunter is 10, Ward is 9, Simmons is 8, Fitz is 7 and Skye is 5.
Huge thanks to beta reader Caitlin51.
May's eyes opened as the sun's rays hit her in the face. She exhaled deeply and shifted in bed, watching her husband, who was still sleeping quietly. His chest rose and dropped smoothly. Coulson was lying down face up, one arm resting over his forehead, the other one lying over his stomach, when the alarm clock rang. May smiled lightly, seeing how his face crumpled up in a frown. Like a little kid, he rubbed his eyes as he groaned, and it was up to her to lean over his body and shut off the alarm clock.
He looked up at her and gave her a sleepy smile. "Morning," he greeted her with a husky voice.
"Morning," she replied, pecking his lips and sitting up in bed. "I'm getting the kids ready, you take care of breakfast."
May got up out of bed immediately; Coulson rolled over and whined quietly, pulling the covers over his head.
Entering the boys' bedroom was the same as entering a battlefield: don't touch anything and look where you're stepping. It was possible to divide the bedroom into four distinct areas, because each one of the boys had a different personalities and interests.
Grant slept on the bed by the corner, near the window. He used it to his advantage, to have his personal display of cars, planes and soldiers lining up on the window sill. May wondered from whom he may have discovered that love for collectibles.
Leo had his own corner as well where he had nothing more than his bed and his crazy experiments hidden under it. And he also had books, tons of them, especially science and mathematics books. He was only seven; he wasn't expected to be such a good reader as he was.
The oldest one, Trip, had the tidiest part of the bedroom. There were two shelves packed with books of all genres that he had read and reread again and again. On the wall in front of his bed was a spot of peeled off paint, a result of him throwing a baseball over and over again at the wall.
Although Lance had his part of the bedroom, his stuff was scattered everywhere. His dirty clothes piled up over his bed (or under it) and floor, his soccer ball and his soccer shoes were somewhere around that bedroom (with a bit of luck, he could locate them). The only thing that was exclusive on his side of the bedroom were his many video games, stacked on a shelf put over his bed.
May walked in, stepping over ten different Lego pieces and three tiny toy soldiers that were on the floor. She silently groaned as she stepped on some stray Legos, feeling the toys almost drilling a hole into her bare feet. She took a moment to look at the sleeping boys. Trip was completely sprawled out in bed, one arm thrown one way, a leg to the other, Grant was on the edge of the bed, back turned to the window, and Lance (surprise, surprise!) wasn't in bed. Walking to the window, May opened the curtains, listening to two different whines, Trip's and Grant's. Leo didn't make a sound because he slept completely under the covers, so the sunlight didn't bother him at all.
"I'm going to wake up your sisters. You better have your butts out of your beds when I come back here."
May used the same treatment with the girls, opening the curtains, to let the sunlight into the bedroom. Jemma, as always, woke up in a good mood, stretching her body and smiling up at her mother.
"Morning, Mom."
"Morning," May couldn't help but to smile back at her. "Start getting ready, Jemma."
Skye, unlike her sister, rolled over in bed, burying her head in her pillow and sticking her butt up. May tried to pull the sheets back but Skye clung to them strongly. It was a battle of stubbornness from both sides until May won and got the five-year-old out of bed. Getting the girl dressed was another battle that May also won. While Skye was getting dressed, Jemma tapped on the hamster's glass case, torturing him in the early morning for the purpose of science. Most of the time the animal starved because of the girl's negligence and it would already be dead if it wasn't for her father feeding the poor thing.
As May was about to leave the bedroom, she saw a cup on the desk. Picking it up she realized that she had come across the source of intense smell that had been lingering on the room.
"Do I want to know what's in this cup?"
Jemma looked at her mother and answered promptly, "It's an experiment. I'm still waiting for you and Dad to give me a microscope so I can look at it."
May frowned, "This is muddy water. You're going to throw it away."
The girl pouted but ended up nodding her head, grabbing the cup to dispose of its contents down the toilet. May made a mental note to talk to Coulson about getting Jemma a toy microscope. It'd make her happy for sure. The woman left the girl's room and made the way downstairs, dodging toys left on pretty much every step of the staircase, and found Lance sitting on the couch.
"Lance," she called, "go get ready."
He didn't answer. May wasn't exactly sure if he had heard her and pretended he didn't, or if he hadn't really heard her at all, being entirely focused on the video game.
"Don't make me call your name one more time, Lance," May warned.
He remained still, holding the video game controller in his hands, pushing the buttons quickly. His eyes were wide, bloodshot, lips parted and drool dripped from the corner of his mouth down to his lap. He had been playing video games all night; as soon as he sensed everyone in the house was sleeping he escaped his bed and played a soundless game all night.
Suddenly the TV screen turned black and his head snapped from side to side as some sort of snore sound left his mouth.
May stood there, gazing him sternly, holding the remote control.
"I was two levels away to-"
He couldn't finish his sentence. He was fished out of the couch by his mother, who removed the video game controller from his hands and grabbed his wrist, and put him on his feet, on the way to his bedroom.
"Your father will decide for how long you'll be deprived of video games."
Lance tried to fight against her decision, but his mother's firm finger pointing him upstairs made him shush and march to the upper floor. As all the kids were out of bed and getting dressed, May decided to go and dress up as well. Coulson, in the kitchen, was desperate.
He opened the cabinets and realized they were short on bowls, as they were all still in the unemptied dishwasher. Once he fetched two of them, he faced another problem: they were running out of cereals. The choice was between Cheerios and Froot Loops, which he wasn't going to give to the kids, especially Skye and Leo. It gave them a sugar rush starting from the early morning, which wasn't at all wanted. So, it had to be Cheerios for everyone. They'd grumble a bit, but it'd wear off.
Coulson placed the cereal and milk filled bowls before Skye's, Leo's and Jemma's seats, and then got the three older boys a glass of juice and bread slices with butter or jam. One by one they started taking their seats and eating breakfast silently. But Coulson's work wasn't done yet. He still had to prepare coffee for himself and tea for May, and if time would allow, he'd start emptying the dishwasher. But there was no time for that. May rushed into the kitchen and Coulson realized they were tight on time.
May took a mug and leaned on the kitchen counter, taking sips of the tea, watching the kids having breakfast. Coulson left the kitchen, climbing upstairs in quick strides, avoiding toys left and right. He had to make it through showering, dressing, and making seven beds before it was time to leave. And obviously he still had to have his morning coffee, or else his day wouldn't start with the right energy. Upon entering the laundry room to drop his used towel, he saw the Everest-like pile of clothes heaping up on the laundry basket. He grimaced and pictured a ton of work for him and May to do after their return home. There were a lot of things that could use some tidying.
He returned to the kitchen in quick steps and grabbed his coffee mug. Chaos ruled the kitchen where once silence had reigned; the kids seemed more awake and talkative now. As they finished breakfast, one by one, they left their empty dishes in the sink and walked to brush their teeth, pee and get their jackets and schoolbags. Needless to say that one existing bathroom in the house and six children wasn't an ideal scenario, especially at such early morning hours. They waited by the door, and every day was the same grumbling. As the years went on, May and Coulson's ears turned deaf to their morning whines.
"Happy tenth anniversary," he kissed her tenderly. "and to easier mornings."
May smiled, "And to ten more years to come." She clicked their coffee mugs and replied with a smirk, "In ten years our oldest will be 23 and our youngest 15. Things will be easier then."
That remark left the two slightly saddened.
"We still have a long road ahead of us though," May tugged his tie and pulled him into a kiss.
"We're ready!" Six voices chanted from the front door.
May and Coulson smiled and left their mugs in the sink, walking to meet their six children with schoolbags on their backs, lined up by the front door. The two adults got their guns and badges, some documents they'd need for the day, car keys and coats, and quickly eight people were making their way out the door.
It was hard to be them, but they wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
Reviews are always appreciated. ^_^ Have a good 2015!
