A/N: Hey guys! So, here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Everyone awoke the next morning, disoriented.
"Where's Roxy?" Natasha asked, nodding to the fire pit that the dog was supposed to be sleeping next to, only to find her drinking water from the river.
Pepper held baby Jace as she walked up to Roxy and began petting her, only for her to abruptly pull away and start barking, running down the rocky shore.
"Roxy!" Pepper called, handing Jace to Tony and running after the animal with Natasha, who handed Lili to Clint.
Roxy continued running down the beach towards another family of campers, jumping on a young man who held a little girl, around Lili's age, protectively in his strong arms. The little girls brown hair in two braids down her back, her small, pale arms around her fathers neck.
"We are so sorry!" Pepper called as she and Natasha finally caught up with the Rottweiler.
"It's fine. You've got a great puppy here. How old is she?" The man asked, putting his daughter down to pet the excited puppy as his wife joined him.
"Roxy. She's six months old."
"Cool. I love Rotties. I'm Collin by the way. This is my wife, Tara, and our daughter Lizzie." He introduced his family as the rest of the group ran down towards them. Collin and his wife's eyes widened in surprise when they realized who the team was.
"I'm Pepper, this is my husband Tony, and our son Jason, but we call him Jace. These are our friends; Natalie and Clint, and their daughter Lili. Steve and Maria, and John and Danny. And of course, Thor and Jane." She introduced them, nodding to Thor and Jane who were taking their time walking over, using Natasha's alias, rolling her eyes as Tony put an arm protectively around her.
"But Auntie Pepper! Mommy's name is Natas_" Lili started, only for Clint to cover the fair haired child's mouth, whispering something in her ear. Lili seemed to understand because she nodded and her mouth formed an 'O' as he took his hand from her face.
"Nice to actually meet y'all. We're big fans."
"Fellow Midgardians! Why do you group together like this?" Thor asked, finally reaching them.
"Looks like we made some new friends, darling." Jane said gently, hooking her arm around his.
"Nice to meet you, Collin." John said as he and everyone else took turns shaking their hands.
"Daddy? Can I play with her?" Lizzie asked, pulling on Collin's pants leg and pointing at Lili.
Collin sighed.
"Elizabeth! It's not polite to point!" Tara scolded their daughter as she brushed her brown hair out of her brown eyes, looking at Natasha and Clint, who nodded in agreement.
Clint put Lilith down, gently nudging her forward in assurance.
"So, what do you do for a living?" Tony questioned, eyeing the couple suspiciously as Lili and Lizzie ran to play by the shore.
Pepper rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, he's very protective." She said, allowing for the rest of the team to get the message and follow after the four-year-olds.
Tara chuckled in response.
"No, that's quite alright. I'm actually a part time police officer, I work the morning shift while Lizzie's at day care. Collin's in the U.S Army, he's home on leave until they decide where they want to ship him off to next." She explained as Collin ran a hand over his black hair as he anxiously watched the children by the waters edge.
"Police officer. Yeah right. Probably under cover." The billionaire muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Pepper to hear.
"Well, excuse us. My husband and I need to exchange a few words." Pepper said, glaring at Tony as she went down to the shore.
"What did I do now?"
"You're too paranoid! I'm not a child, it's not me you should be worrying about. It's our son!" She scolded, watching Natasha and Clint head back to their tent while Roxy and Lizzie's parents watched the kids less than fifteen yards away. Maria and her brother were less than a hundred yards away teaching Steve how to skip rocks, while Bruce, Betty and John prepared breakfast; Thor and Jane simply went for a swim.
Tony sighed.
"I know, but you and Jace are the most important people in the world to me. If I let anything happen to either one of you, i'd never forgive myself. Be it to another guy..." Tony trailed off as Pepper scoffed, cupping his face in her gentle hands, her blue eyes boring into his brown ones.
"I see where you're coming from, but Collin and Tara seem to be happily married with Lizzie, and they seem like a nice family. Give them a chance, will you? You're just over reacting, honey. Just trust me, you aren't going to lose us." She assured him, clutching Jace against her chest as Tony nodded, caressing her cheek as he bent down and kissed her passionately on the lips.
"Ew! Gross!" Lili and Lizzie shouted at the two adults, prompting the children to run as Tony mockingly chased after the newly formed, inseparable friends.
"They're going to miss each other when we have to separate them." Natasha said as Pepper and Tony rejoined the group around the fire pit for breakfast, his arm protectively around Pepper as Thor and Jane returned from their walk.
You have no idea how attached children can get...
A/N: Let me know what y'all think! Please review, they make me happy :)
