Tova was immensely busy playing with her stuffed octopus, which she had privately named "Cheese", when she noticed that there was something on the sofa. Her current location was in a playpen in the corner of the living room and from this spot she could see nearly everything that was going on in the apartment. Everything except the thing on the couch. All she could make out was a large, mostly green, shape covered in a fraying blanket. Every now and then the green thing would make a snorting sound or gasp.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Tova pulled herself up so that she could look over the edge of the playpen. As she teetered there, one hand holding her toy and the other gripping the pen rim, she got a better look at the creature on the couch. Her new vantage point proved that it was actually a person of some sort, though the toddler could not make out whether it was a person like daddy or a person like mommy as all she could see was the back of the head and that was very hairy. This meant nothing in determining the gender as both her parents had quite a lot of hair.
In a shocking move, the person groaned slightly and rolled over. Its face was to her now and she concluded that, though it was beardless, it was male. Tova blinked in surprise as the man opened his eyes and looked at her. His lips curved up and he began to get off of the couch.
"A good morning to you." The man greeted. Tova stuffed one of the legs of her octopus in her mouth in reply.
"Ah! You awake!" Daddy's voice declared from the kitchen, "Would you care for some cereal? We have Frosted Flakes, Cheerios, and Raisin Bran."
"Frosted flakes of what? And what is meant by 'frosted'?"
"I've no idea, but they are Jane's favorite," Daddy told the man in green, "I prefer the Raisin Bran and Tova likes Cheerios."
Hearing her name, Tova decided to show off her speaking abilities and removed the octopus from her mouth to allow a clear pronunciation. "Rios!"
"She is quite eloquent for one so young." The green man noted, stepping close to her and looking her over. She gnawed on her toy some more.
"Indeed!" Daddy laughed, taking the one step from the kitchen to the living room and ruffling her fuzzy blonde hair gently.
"Did I oversleep?"
"Not at all! I've nothing particular planned for the day so we may do whatever you wish… provided it is both legal and safe for us to take Tova to."
"The Avengers do not need your help?"
"They will alert me if they do."
Both of the men went into the kitchen and began munching on bowls of cereal. Tova had her breakfast already, but disliked the distance between herself and the visitor. She wanted to know more about him. She vaguely recalled that this was the person who had helped her finger paint last night, but beyond that she knew nothing. Desiring to get a closer look she left out a scream. Daddy smiled at her and retrieved her, placing her in her highchair. At such close proximity to the stranger she could make out that he was, indeed, her accomplice from last night - also that he smelled funny.
"We could go to a park, it is lovely weather today."
"We could do that." The stranger agreed, examining Tova closely.
"Or perhaps the library," Daddy smirked, "I know that it would be your prefered haunt."
"What could a baby possibly do at a library?"
"They have a special storytime for children between the ages of just being born and four years old. Stark often takes his son."
"If there is a chance that we would encounter Tony Stark then I'd prefer not to."
The name the two kept saying sounded familiar in Tova's little ears. Somehow she knew that it meant she would see her friend, Cole. Cole was older than her and always getting impatient when she tried to talk to him since she was new at the whole verbal communication thing, but he was her best friend. Well, he was the only one she ever heard the word "friend" associated with so she assumed he was her best friend. If Daddy and the green guy were discussing her best friend they she decided that she'd better alert them that she thought they should see him.
Her plan was to say the name they'd been saying, however, the "sss" sound was a hard one for her at the moment and the "arr" sound was near impossible. She tried her best but it only came out sounding like gibberish. Thinking back to other words they'd been using she tried another with more letters that she could get her tongue around.
"Why-bwawy."
"Norns!" The man in green exclaimed, smiling brightly, "It almost sounds as if she is attempting to say-"
"Why-bwawy!" Tova shrieked at him to get her point across and he glanced at Daddy.
"If the girl wants to go that badly then by all means let us make haste to the library."
"I thought you said-"
"Thor, somehow your daughter is a genius - despite her paternal genes - and she wishes to go to a place of learning. If I can help someone in the Odison line to actually pick up a book then I will put up with all the Avengers if I must!" The man in green took her out of her highchair and held her so he could look in her eyes, "Let us hope you take after your grandmother in your thirst for wisdom, princess."
Tova didn't know what any of that meant but she picked up on the fact that they were going somewhere. Hopefully the same place Cole was at. To show her approval of this plan, she clapped her hands together and smiled. Daddy grinned and the man in green smirked.
"Then we are off to the 'why-bwawy'!" Daddy declared, hoisting his spoon in triumph.
"Why-bwawy!" Tova shot her hand into the air, mimicking her father.
The man in green shrugged and pumped his fist above his head as well. "Why-bwawy!"
A/N: Maybe you are wondering why I haven't written anything in a while. So, my computer broke. And apparently the place we sent it to be fixed had a policy that if they can't fix it they send it off to be destroyed. Guess what happened to my computer! That was a while ago and I requested the hard drive be returned so that I could get my pictures and stories off, but to collect the information on your computer apparently costs $300. So they gave us the amount of money that my old computer (RIP Bertha) cost and I purchased a new computer (welcome to the family Natasha, yes I name my computers and yes, my new computer is named after Black Widow). That's why I haven't been writing. It's been since July since I've been able to write and my brain is practically exploding with unwritten stories. Hopefully that means I will get a lot written in the coming weeks. Thanks so much for being patient and for your stellar reviews. You guys are awesome. :)
