Author's Note: Hello! And welcome back! It's been a long month since Linchpin hasn't it? Sorry about that. Creativity is a fickle friend. But I've managed to pull this chapter through the muddle and I'm excited to present it to you! I hope I haven't lost anyone since my last update. We're picking up just about a week after the final chapter of Linchpin (the epilogue, really). This story is going to be a series of (probably) unrelated one-shots not unlike my other story This One Time- only this story is set after Linchpin. I can't promise I'll be able to update in a timely fashion but I'll try my hardest to stick to the 3-5 day update schedule of my other stories.
Enjoy!
Everyone spent their spare time getting the tower ready for their newest addition. They painted, decorated then rearranged Robby's new room as well as bought and made new furniture. They didn't want to over-do it and make the room overwhelming for Robby but of course Tony got a little carried away. It was done with love though and that's what counts so Pepper let him keep it the way it was. She had a feeling Robby wouldn't necessarily want to sleep in there for a little while anyway- used to sleeping in a room full of kids at the group home. Their main concern was just making him feel welcomed and loved. So they spent all week and all morning getting ready then before lunch Tony, Pepper and Ryland headed out to Safe Anchorage to sign the rest of the papers and bring their little boy home.
The paparazzi hadn't caught onto the family's plans yet so they were only outside the tower and were unable to follow them to the orphanage. Tony made a few calls beforehand to ensure no cameras would come within a block of the orphanage. The last thing Robby needed was a massive fanfare as he tried coming home for the first time. They made it inside without much hassle and there was someone there to greet them immediately.
"Welcome back, Mr. and Mrs. Stark. We can't wait to get you and Robby home today so we've got everything set and ready to go we just need a few quick signatures." the volunteer said as she lead the Stark's and their lawyer to an office space. Since Ryland didn't have to sign anything and his only part of the whole process was helping make Robby feel welcome, he quickly asked if he could hang with Robby while the adults did their thing.
"Of course," the volunteer replied with a smile as they stood outside her office. "he's up in his bedroom packing up his stuff, you can head on up there and we'll come get you both when we're all done here."
That's all the encouragement Ryland needed so he left his parents and headed for the stairs. He grew up coming to this orphanage a few times a year and though it'd gone through some serious renovations over the years the layout was the same so Ryland knew exactly where he was headed. The whole family was just there a few months prior and Ryland and his parents had met numerous times so a lot of the kids there knew Ryland pretty well. As he walked down the halls multiple kids stopped to say hi or bump fists with him and Ryland always stopped long enough for a "how are you?" no matter what. By the time he made it upstairs he had a small group of kids following him.
Robby shared a room with four other kids who were helping him pack up what little stuff he had and when Ryland walked in all the kids immediately jumped on him, hanging off him like monkeys and screaming in excitement. Ryland just laughed, trying not to hurt anyone as he made his way into the room and deposited the little herd of kids onto the closest bed.
"Hey, buddy." Ryland greeted Robby with a smile, running his hand through the little boy's shaggy brown hair. Robby was a really cute kid with big silver eyes and a crooked smile. His cheeks were peppered with little freckles just a few shades darker than his already tanned skin. Robby had quite a few nationalities in his blood, ranging from Greek, Indian, and even Irish. It made for tan skin and light eyes. He was absolutely adorable. "How you feeling?"
"Good," Robby replied with a smile as he sat on the bed beside Ryland. "am I going to go live with you now?"
"Sure are!" Ryland told him excitedly. "In fact, Mom and Dad are downstairs right now signing all the papers needed so we can take you home. And when we get back to the tower you'll get to meet the rest of the family too."
"You mean the Avengers?" Robby asked, garnering a few gasps from the kids around them. Every single kid at Safe Anchorage was jealous that Robby got adopted by an Avenger. It was always a big deal when one of the kids at the group home got adopted but this was the biggest deal ever. Every kid everywhere loved the Avengers and the kids at Safe Anchorage were lucky enough to hang out with the super group every now and then. Robby was luckiest of all, getting to go live with them and call them family.
"Yeah, but you remember what I told you about them? To think of them as just people, like you and me, no better or different at all." Ryland reminded Robby. They'd had a few conversations already about how the Avengers were just regular joe's only they had a bit more money than most people and got to do good deeds very publicly. Just cause they were good people didn't make them better than anyone else.
"Yeah, it's just exciting." Robby giggled before grabbing his backpack off his bed. "Can we go now?" he asked with bright eyes, practically vibrating with enthusiasm. Ryland chuckled and mused his hair again, reminding Robby that they had to wait for Pepper and Tony to finish singing the papers and settling all the legal crap.
"But why don't we go around and say goodbye to your friends?" Ryland suggested, standing up from the bed with a few kids attached to his limbs. "We'll be back here a lot- for holidays and whatnot- but you should still say goodbye."
Robby agreed, taking up Ryland's free hand and walking out of the room with his new brother. He was so excited to be apart of this family. He couldn't wait to go home and meet everyone and live in the tower. Every little kids dream is to have a family like the Avengers and Robby got to live that dream. Ryland was a great big brother and Tony and Pepper made awesome parents; Robby was sure the rest of the team would be cool too. He just wanted this new part of his life to start already- he felt like it was taking forever.
Eventually Tony and Pepper found their boys and announced it was time to go home. Robby had already said goodbye to his friends and gathered his stuff so there was nothing else to do but get going. But all of a sudden Robby was scared. He'd spent his whole life flitting from foster home to foster home never really knowing anything about family; suddenly the thought of being apart of one scared him more than anything and he paused long enough for everyone to notice.
Seeing the somewhat terrified look on Robby's face, Tony knelt down to the boys level and looked him in the eye, lowering his voice so just Robby could hear. "You still okay?" he asked softly, searching for the happy little boy stuck behind those terrified silver eyes. "If you want to we can just drive around for a bit, we don't have to go home right now."
At that Robby looked up with a pinch of fear gone from his eyes so Pepper added, "We'll go get some lunch. There's a little bistro around the corner I've been dying to try. Does that sound nice?"
Robby slowly started to smile as he looked between Tony and Pepper's sympathetic eyes than up to Ryland's. The older boy just winked, knowing exactly what Robby was thinking. "No that's okay." Robby replied, having made up his mind. "I'm ready to go home now."
No one questioned it, just went along with Robby's new found confidence in the little family. There was a car waiting out front and so they all climbed inside, Robby and Ryland in the backseat and Tony driving. The only thing Robby had with him was a camo backpack full of his clothes and toys so he sat it by his feet. As part of a homecoming gift, Tony got Robby little red Converse so he matched Ryland and Tony who wore the same sneakers but in different styles. In fact the three boys looked a lot alike, all in jeans and Converse. Robby was wearing a black long sleeve shirt under a gray tee and Ryland was wearing a tan Henley whereas Tony was wearing a black comical tee shirt under a leather jacket. Pepper was the only one reasonably dressed up in tan pants, little brown ankle boots and a nice red jumper. It was crazy how perfectly Robby fit into their little family right away, even blending in looks wise.
When Tony pulled into the garage Robby got a little frightened again but soldiered on. This is what you want, he reminded himself a million times as they hopped out of the car and rode the elevator up to the communal level where everyone was waiting to greet their new family member. Mickey warned everyone that Robby would probably be feeling a little overwhelmed when he first got home so they kept the homecoming low-key. They were all upstairs but they didn't make too big of a deal when the new little family exited the elevator.
Steve and Bruce were in the kitchen cooking up lunch with Anya and Charlotte's help and everyone else was randomly dispersed throughout the living room and kitchen talking amongst themselves. Everyone took turns introducing themselves, bending down for handshakes or in Thor's case a big hug. Robby just chuckled and hung there in Thor's arms until the god put him back down and Jane apologized for her husband's forwardness. Ryland introduced Anya with a hand on the base of her spine, hoping so hard the two hit it off. Of course Robby loved Anya and she loved him right back. The only family members that weren't home at the time was Kellen who was out with Dahlia in the city trying to get his book published. But when Jane called he promised to get home as soon as possible and not miss lunch.
"You hungry, Robby? We've got a feast ready." Steve asked with a chuckle as he gestured to the layout atop the kitchen counters. Robby couldn't quite see so Steve picked him up so he could look at the massive spread Bruce and Steve had created with wide eyes.
"Well I'm hungry now!" Robby replied enthusiastically as he started drooling over the delicious smelling food. Everyone chuckled and went about setting the table- with one new place setting. Kellen and Dahlia arrived home just as everyone was serving themselves hefty plates full of delicious food. Introductions to Robby went quick for the last two family members since everyone just wanted to eat so they exchanged quick pleasantries before sitting down at the table and digging in. It was silent for a few minutes as everyone started munching, the only sounds of eating and mumbled compliments to Steve and Bruce.
After a few minutes Robby started to giggle to himself. Everyone smiled if just cause the boy's laughter was contagious but Pepper had to ask what the little kid found so funny. Robby tried to straighten up and stop giggling to no avail. So when he tried to reply he was still giggling but everyone heard him clear as day when he said, "I'm just happy to finally be home."
Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed the first little chapter! I'm aiming to keep the chapters around 2,000 words each so their short and sweet and to the point. So let me know what you think by leaving a review! And don't forget to favorite and set this story to your alerts so you won't miss an update :)
P.S. I'm carrying on the tradition of Polyvore sets linked to each chapter so head over to my page (samitballi. polyvore. com) and check out the set for this chapter titled Finally Home :)