So I posted this a lot later than I wanted to. I've been pretty busy the past week and couldn't get around to writing like I thought I would. I did promise a longer chapter and this one is over 2000 words and I have the next chapter almost ready, I just need to work with it a little more tomorrow. As always I want to thank you all for your support. I will list all of the reviewers tomorrow and answer questions then. I will however say that babycakes10121's review gave me some inspiration relating to Fury.
I do not own any of marvel's characters or movies. All rights go to Disney and Marvel.
***here we go***
"—and this is the main kitchen. The next two levels above us are mine and Pepper's floors so I won't bother showing you those," it had taken another month but Tony had finally gotten the six floors below renovated for the Avengers.
While he could have just lumped them all together on one floor—he and Pepper agreed they all deserve their space. The five team members each got their own floors with the only the necessities (they could design their floors themselves, Tony wasn't going to assume their tastes), Steve's floor was the lowest, followed by Thor, Clint, Natasha, and Banner. Right above Banner's and just below Pepper's was a team floor—for "bonding" as Fury liked to call it.
"This is nice, Tony. Thank you," Bruce was currently rummaging through the tea cabinet—Tony had stocked everyone's favorites after Fury sent over a grocery list.
"Don't thank him, it was probably Pepper that did all the work," Natasha is sifting through the fridge, inspecting the various juices Tony had brought for breakfast.
He squawks indignantly at the assassin—he and Elli (disguised of course) had spent hours at the grocery store searching for all of their picky tastes. He knows he could send someone else, or just have Jarvis order it all, but they hadn't gone in a while and Elli loves to ride on the back of the cart.
"On the contrary, I did not lift a finger, Ms. Romanoff."
The group turned to see Pepper Potts step off of the elevator, not bothering to look up from the tablet in her hands. Her high heels tapped the hardwood floor as she went to Tony's side, a dog following behind her, Captain America plushie held in its jaws.
"What is this beast?" Thor peaks around the counter to see the golden haired creature as it curled around the red head's feet.
"This is Deedee," Tony got a treat from the cabinet and tossed it, the retriever lifting her head to catch it before returning to chomping down on the stuffed toy, "and she is a dog, Thor."
"What is the purpose of such a creature? Does it guard you?"
"She is a pet—kind of like a companion, I guess," and in a way she could be a guard dog when it came to Elli.
"So it does not aid you in battle?"
"No?"
Everyone glances at the god of lightening as he contemplates the concept of a "pet" before Clint turns his attention back to the billionaire and his dog.
"Your dog's name is Deedee? And what's with the Cap doll, you a secret fan?" the archer raised an eyebrow at the man, who looked down to see Elli's favorite plushie being covered in dog saliva. Tony discretely kicks Pepper's leg who glares at the genius before taking in the hidden panic behind the man's eyes. Having not been listening to the conversation, Pepper confusedly follows Tony's gaze to the dog at her feet before a feeling of dread rushes over her.
"Oh…the uh…doll, Agent brought it over one day," it wasn't a lie, Phil had gotten the doll for Elli's fifth birthday, "And yep, that's her name, didn't pick it out though," Tony is trying to be nonchalant about unsuccessfully trying to force the plushie out of the dog's mouth, but he is panicking when Deedee's teeth sink into the cotton.
"Who did?" Tony tries to think about how to answer that before giving one last tug causing the rip in the toy Captain's neck to grow until completely beheading the doll. Pepper can't help the gasp that escapes her as Tony stares dumbly at his daughter's ruined possession. The team watches the two with confusion—why were they so upset about a dog toy?
"Sir?" Tony snaps his head up at his AI's voice, while Bruce scrunched his eyebrows. It looked like the billionaire was relieved.
"Yeah, Jay?"
"Nick Fury is on the line," Tony allows Jarvis to bring the director on the kitchen's screen, hopefully he wasn't calling about Elli.
"Stark, is the rest of the team with you?" Fury isn't looking at them but seems distracted by something behind the camera.
"Right here, sir," only glancing at the Captain, Fury nods before addressing the whole team.
"Loki is back," with his one good eye, Fury stares Thor down—Asgardian justice his ass. The blonde god had the decency to look sheepish when his teammates gape at him.
"He escaped?"
"AND YOU WAITED TO LET US KNOW THIS NOW?!" If Natasha wasn't gripping his arm, Clint would have been attacking the asgardian even knowing he would never have a chance of winning.
"We will discuss this later—right now I need you all to head to Central Square and stop him from blowing up anymore billboards," the Avengers are moving to get suited up but just as Fury is about to cut the call, a small girlish voice catches the team's attention.
"Papa? Are you talking to daddy?"
Behind the camera, the door to Fury's office opens and the youngest Stark skips inside with a juice box. Her Papa had stocked his fridge for the weekend and even though it was past six, her Papa was letting her drink juice as long as Elli promised not to tell her daddy. She hoped her daddy was calling about her Cap doll—she had forgot it at home.
"Is that…a child, director?" Natasha was rarely surprised—but Nick Fury having a child in his office that was calling him Papa was too much of a curve ball even for her.
"Take care of Loki," not bothering to address Natasha's inquiry, Fury ends the call.
The team stares at the black screen, not noticing Pepper dragging a hand down her face or Tony rushing off to avoid the gossip that was sure to follow.
**break**
"Papa! I wanted to talk to daddy!" The white haired child climbs into her Papa's lap to look at a black screen in disappointment.
"Sorry, baby girl, but your daddy had to go save some people. We'll call him tomorrow, okay?"
Part of their deal had included Fury babysitting while the Avenger's got settled in the tower. Tony wanted to get a feel for the Avenger's habits and schedules before Elli was in the tower with them. Not that Fury minded—he loved the girl to death. They were even going to have her sixth birthday in his home later that week so that they could celebrate and keep Elli a secret at the same time. He and Pepper had been trying to get Tony to agree to invite the Avengers but he was being as stubborn as usual.
"Is daddy going to be on the T.V. then? Can I watch?" Fury knew the girl was only asking to be polite—she would never take no for an answer. If she wasn't in school when the Avenger's went out on missions, Elli insisted on watching whichever news station was broadcasting the fight. And if no news stations had the footage, Jarvis would hack into Shield's field cameras for her.
"Of course, but you need to change into your pajamas first," standing up with his granddaughter in his arms, Fury carries the girl to the living room where her overnight bag is sitting on the cushions. He hadn't even been aware that his couch was a pullout until the first time Elli had spent the night.
He helps her find her P.J.'s—a little red night gown with tiny Iron Man's outlined in gold flying all around the cloth—and then sends her off to the bathroom to brush her teeth. He had looked for a news cast but had given up when Jarvis suddenly hacked his television and pulled up Iron Man's visuals. When she returns they both settle into the pullout, Elli on his lap once again as they watch the Avengers run around the screen.
Knowing he will get the reports later, Fury doesn't pay much attention and instead focuses combing the knots out of Elli's hair. He can tell how tense she is—she had always been extremely protective of the older Stark. Even when they first met when she was just three years old the girl had been ready to go after anyone that threatened her father.
***flashbacktoIRONMAN2***
Fury had known about the child before this—Coulson had informed him in person of her existence. But seeing was much different than hearing an agent report on her…oddities. He was annoyed when he got there. Stark was laying on his back with the toddler balanced on his stomach—both of them nibbling on fried dough.
"Sir! I'm gonna have to ask you to exit the donut," the Starks look at him as Tony lowers his sunglasses while squinting, his daughter looking to him before giggling and following his example with her the bright red frames she was sporting. The billionaire sighs and scoops up the child before joining the director on the ground.
"I told you I don't wanna join your super-secret boy band," the three of them are in a booth, the two men sipping black coffee as Elli pretends to do the same with chocolate milk.
"No, no, no. See, I remember, you do everything yourself," Fury keeps his tone light hearted for the child's sake, but he knows Tony is getting the message, "How's that working out for you and your daughter?"
"-It's... It's... It's..."
"I'm sorry," he isn't really sorry, Stark always managed to make Fury's life much more complicated then necessary, "I don't wanna get off on the wrong foot."
"Do I look at the patch or the eye? Honestly, I'm a bit hung over," Tony is back to squinting at the man, the toddler no longer giggling as she watches both of them with calculating eyes too mature for her age, "I'm not sure if you're real or if I'm having..."
"I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet."
"Just my luck," Tony rolls his eyes before looking around, "Where's the staff here?"
"That's not looking so good," Fury caught a glance of the darkened veins running up the genius' neck.
"It was worse before," both men's attention snapped at the tense whisper, Tony adopting a look of remorse as he studied his daughters tense grip on the glass of milk.
"Munchkin, I…I…OW!"
Stark practically flies out of his seat as Coulson comes from behind and injects a fluid into his neck. Fury knew it was coming but he can't help but be startled himself as Stark's child begins to glow, her hair flaming into wispy tendrils.
"Elli," Coulson calls the girl softly as she examines her daddy hunched over, the dark blue lines in his neck receding below the armor, "it's alright. I just gave him some medicine. You know how your daddy is, gotta trick him into taking it."
The ethereal toddler lifts her head to look at the agent before turning her gaze across the table to the director. He would never admit it—but in that moment, the most powerful super spy in the world was afraid of what the toddler would do to him if her daddy ended up dying from the poisoning.
***break***
"Now this, on the other hand," Fury had gone to Stark's mansion a couple weeks later, the two were sitting in the half destroyed living room, "is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you. Read it."
"…'Personality overview. Mr. Stark displays compulsive behavior'…" Stark raised his eyebrows, "In my own defense, that was last week…'Prone to self-destructive tendencies,' I was dying. I mean, please. And aren't we all?"
Fury only stares blankly.
"'Textbook narcissism'? Agreed. Okay, here it is. 'Recruitment assessment for Avenger Initiative. Iron Man? Yes.'…" Tony rubs his chin, "I gotta think about it."
"Read on."
"'Tony Stark not...Not recommended'? Seriously?"
"It's just the official statement, even if Agent Romanoff doesn't know it—her report is extremely lacking due to forces out of her control. This is the one those with access to our databases will see. The real one is just in my and Coulson's heads," Fury had promised to keep the Stark child out of regular knowledge and while the Shield servers were the best protected in the world—he wasn't taking any chances.
"So you do approve of me, huh Nicky?" The billionaire wiggles his eyebrows at the director.
"Don't call me that."
"Is eyepatch better?"
Fury says nothing, only gets up to leave. When he is almost to the front door, a tiny body blocks his path. The golden eyes look into his soul and the man is convinced the little girl is sizing him up.
"Here," the toddler shoves a homemade thank you card into the spy's hands before running off to her daddy. Carefully unfolding it, the inside was a portrait of himself along with the two Starks and what he assumed to be a dog and a unicorn. He gently tucked the paper into his coat for safe keeping until he returned to his home. Looking at it again, Fury makes a quick decision to put the drawing up in a place of honor on the fridge. It still hasn't been taken down nearly three years later.
***break***
SO I am sorry but the avengers did not "meet" Elli in this chapter. BUT I promise, it is happening next chapter. I just got really carried away with Fury babysitting.