The blonde woman pulled Tony into a hug and kissed Steve on the cheek. Tony grinned at her.

"Hey, Sue. Longtime, no see."

She poked his chest playfully. "That's because my husband is more married to you than he is to me. Frankie's always trying to sneak into the lab when he's not there," she added.

"Bring him around here some time. No offense to Reed, but StarkTech is much more advanced than his stuff," the inventor offered. "Haven't seen the kid in a while either, actually. I have some new tech I need tested. Think he'd be interested in playing with some of this stuff?"

"Oh I'm sure he'd love that," Sue chuckled.

Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out the latest edition StarkPlayer. "Here. Let him try this out. I need to see how well kids can handle it." He handed it to her.

She took it, pocketing the device in her purse. "He'd object to being called a 'kid.' He's thirteen now."

"Really haven't seen him in a while. He was what, eleven the last time I saw him?"

Sue's eyebrows rose as she sighed. "Tony, you saw him two months ago."

The inventor clutched his heart in mock horror. "What? Are you telling me that I can't remember the last time I saw my pseudo-nephew? How very dare you!"

Steve rolled his eyes. "Tony, you couldn't remember Bruce's branch of science earlier today."

"Shhhh! She doesn't need to know that!" He half whispered, gesturing to Sue.

Steve gently squeezed on Tony's arm, reminding him of the reason for this meet up.

"Sue, make yourself comfortable," the super-soldier offered, gesturing to the large living room.

Although they usually spent their time in the common areas of the Tower, they chose a more private location for this.

Sue placed the several large folders that she was carrying onto the coffee table, and settled herself in the plush armchair facing the couch. The couple sat before, fingers interlinked. She opened the top file, showing it to them.

"These are Sierra and Rory Hashim. They've been in the system since they were seven. They're currently twelve years old, turning thirteen in three months. Twins." She pulled a picture out to show the two men. Tony took it, while Steve grabbed the informational sheet.

"This says Sierra and Mia, not Rory," he pointed out, puzzled.

"Rory's name hasn't legally been changed yet. He needs a guardian's consent, and the State refuses to do so. He's identified as male since he was nine," Sue amended. The social worker waited hesitantly for their response.

"Is thus a problem?" She asked cautiously.

Steve's head shot up. "What? No, of course not. Why would it be an issue?" He inquired, confused. Seeing the look on Sue's face, he leaned back slightly. "Wait, has this been an issue before?" When she nodded, his eyes became dark.

"Jesus Christ," Tony muttered.

"I know. It pisses me the hell off, too," she provided.

"Have they lost homes because of this?" He asked.

"Several, actually. Two called me after they'd already been living there, and another couple told me flat out 'no' beforehand. As open as the city is, suburban New York is slightly more conservative." Her voice was clipped, clearly displeased by this fact.

Tony exhaled loudly. "Wow."

"They've been in nine different homes, and were even separated once. I've done my best to keep them together, but I have to listen to orders from higher up. To be honest, they only starting complying with me was to get me to shut up.

Steve looked slightly concerned. "Whys is it so difficult to place them?" His brown creased.

"It's not their fault," she replied quickly. "They're great kids. But as advanced as our society claims to be, we still have a long way to go." Sue sighed, rubbing her temple. "People are still scared of what they don't know. They didn't want the twins around them or their families."

"Sue?" Tony asked, concern starting to creep into his voice.

She bit her lip, and then responded. "They're mutants, Tony. Both of them. It only started to manifest itself in them a couple of months after being in the system. It's inbred, but the sudden change in their lives triggered it. Listen: They're Chilean and Moroccan, Muslim, almost teenagers, Mutant, and Rory's trans*. It's never going to get any easier for them if they don't get permanently placed soon. They've been through so much and deserve so much better."

Leaning forward, her tone was much more urgent now. "I know that you originally came to me looking for a single, much younger child. But they are running out of chances, and if anyone could make it work, it'd be you two."

Tony silently passed the picture he was still holding over to Steve. The soldier took it, examining the children in it.

Sierra's face was round, with very soft features. Her eyes were a bright blue, which actually contrasted beautifully with her almond colored skin. She had very wavy jet-black hair that fell way past her shoulders. Her arm was wrapped protectively around her brother protectively, keeping him close.

He had the same face as her, but deep brown eyes instead. His own black hair was cut above his ears, curling slightly in soft waves. If it wasn't for the eyes, they'd be identical.

"They're only twelve? They hold themselves like they're older," Steve observed.

"I know," she said quietly. They've been through shit. Way more than kids their age should have to. But they're amazing kids. Sierra's a straight A student, and already has colleges trying to recruit her. She's won several awards for her science work. Rory's an artist and has had several pieces displayed in local galleries. Despite everything else in his life he's an honor student. They just need someone to give them a chance."

The conviction in her voice told them everything they needed to know.

"Can we have a few minutes, Sue?" Steve asked, turning to look at his husband.

"Of course." She stood and excused herself from the room. When she was gone, Tony met Steve's gaze.

"What do you think?" Steve asked softly, glancing down as he took Tony's hand in his own.

The brunette sighed, thinking for a moment before answering. "Steve, do you really think that we can handle two teenagers? That sounds intense, even for us. I'm not shooting it down," he continued, seeing the look on Steve's face. "We just need to really think this through before we do anything. Maybe this will help us. The shrink said that we try taking on more responsibility. The fact that Atticus is still alive is a good sign, right?"

At the sound of his name, the couple's PTSD Golden Retriever trotted into the room. Resting his head on Steve's lap, his big wet eyes looked up at Tony.

"Maybe all of our combined experiences can end up helping each other," Steve offered. "We can at least set up a visit with them. Once we meet them, we can decide where we want to go from there. Sound like a plan?"

Tony considered it before answering. "Okay. Yeah, we can do that. I'm sure Agent's gonna love this." He added as an afterthought.

Steve's eyes crinkled as he smiled making Tony's heart melt. "I'm sure our handler's going to find a way to deal with it," he responded, leaning forward to touch his forehead to his husband's. The soldier gave him a chaste kiss, but pulled away when he heard a high pitched scream come from downstairs, followed by Natasha bursting into laughter.

Brow furrowing, Steve looked in the direction of the sound. "Was that Clint?" He asked, trying to suppress his laughter.

"I think Sue finally got him back for crawling through the vents of the Baxter Building," Tony supplied. "You don't mess with Sue Richards and get away with it."

"God bless the Invisible Woman," Steve declared, leaning in again to kiss Tony.

So, Sue's a social worker in my AU. This is the first chapter of the prologue of a series that I'm working on. Stayed tuned for more! Please review! Also, if at any point ya'll have ideas for chapters, let me know!