Author's Note: This is the last chapter I have pre-written but I have part of the next chapter written and the next one after that mapped out in my head. After that though idk what I'm doing hahaha Wish me luck ;)
Review Reviews!
Orion84: As much as I wanted to dabble in Pepper's parenting ways that sleepover was way too good a chance to see Tony with a little girl ;) Glad you liked it!
kimbee: Thanks for the suggestions! I will work on adding them in future chapters :)
Sasha: I am glad I could make your Monday a little bit better- even with your pesky coworkers. I like to think Tony's a great dad because he doesn't try to baby Anya or Ryland- h talks to them and treats them like he would just about anyone else. Oh man I'd kill for a man like Clint he seems amazing! I'm glad you were pleased with the chapter :) I wanted a little more from Clint and Natasha as well- to explore their softer, more sentimental side because as much as they do act like teenagers there's a deepness to their relationship that's so beautiful. I only touch on it every now and then to keep the story light but my gosh it really is a pretty thing they have. Rambling is a good thing, honey, I love rambles! haha :) Thanks for watching my Polyvore I always think no one checks it haha Thanks again :)
steph: Hehe thankies :)
Morgan: I will take that into consideration for either the sequel or when Anya's a little older :)
kmp: Hahaha adventure thing-a-ma-bobs are inevitable with the Avengers ;)
discordchick: Aww thank you :) I never thought I was all that good at writing fluff until I started this story. Omg a tea party with the team would be hilarious lol I will have to add that at some point ;)
Shadowpool95: Thanks! :)
yuki90: I love how detailed and well thought out your suggestions always are :) Thanks for the idea! I'm still not sure what I'm doing with Bruce but we'll see how things go. He should be getting someone soon though :)
guest1: Haha riding bikes in the kitchen would absolutely be a Tony move! Thanks for the vote of confidence but it does have to end eventually :(
maggie: Thanks! I will take all those suggestions into consideration while I write the next few chapters :)
littlenaoki: Hi and welcome! Thank you so much :) Anya and Ryland are roughly 2 to 3 years apart (I haven't given them concrete birth dates). Haha there is something about Thor with a little girl that makes me smile too. In fact, picturing any member of the team giving pony rides or playing dress up makes me just about as happy as I'll ever be ;)
This is another fluffy chapter of adorableness! I literally couldn't stop smiling while writing this I wish I could see it happen in real life :) Thanks again to all my lovely, wonderful, perfect and amazing followers! Seriously ya'll are the best thing on earth and I love you sooo very much :)
Enjoy!
Tony woke up in the morning completely alone in the blanket fort with part of the wall falling on him. He sat up and rubbed the back of his hands against his tired eyes before fixing the blanket wall and crawling out the entrance. The lights in the living room were still off but there was light coming from the kitchen so that's where Tony headed. He could hear Pepper and Ryland's soft voices as he approached the entryway and smiled when he saw what they were up to.
"Be careful not to get any of the shell in the batter." Pepper said softly as she stood beside Ryland at the far end of the kitchen. Ryland was on a step stool still in his Iron Man pajamas and Captain America slippers, an apron around his waist. He was in the process of trying to crack an egg into a large yellow bowl full of what appeared to be pancake batter.
Ryland was concentrating real hard, his tongue sticking out as he focused on not getting any of the egg shell in the batter like Pepper told him. He taped the egg against the side of the bowl and spread it apart, not a single egg shell accompanying the egg inside. "I did it, Mommy!" Ryland cheered, throwing the egg shell in the trash with a proud smile.
"You did a great job!" Pepper replied with an equally delighted smile. "What else should we add? Let's see…" she continued as she spun the spice rack in the cabinet above her head. "…how about some…cinnamon and some vanilla?"
"Yeah Daddy will like that!" Ryland said enthusiastically, reaching for the ingredients. Pepper pulled out the vanilla syrup and poured some into a small measuring bowl and handed it to Ryland to pour into the batter. Then she handed him the cinnamon and told him to gentle pour just a little bit into the batter. "Is that enough?" Ryland asked after sprinkling a healthy amount into the yellow bowl.
"Yeah, that's plenty. Now stir it all up real well." Pepper replied all the while completely unaware of Tony's presence behind her. He just leaned against the doorframe with a lazy smile, watching the two most important people in his life make him pancakes. It wasn't until Pepper turned towards the griddle that she noticed Tony.
"Oops did we wake you?" she asked sheepishly as she smiled at him. Tony just shook his head before walking over and pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead. Pepper giggled a little as she said, "Well good morning to you too."
Tony chuckled and grabbed Ryland's waist, pulling him into a hug from behind and kissing the boy's neck. "Morning, Daddy." Ryland said through a chuckle as he continued to stir the pancakes.
"Is this for me?" Tony asked, gesturing to the mess of pancake supplies littering the kitchen counters.
"No, silly, it's for all of us." Ryland replied, shaking his head at Tony who just laughed. "But cause you made such a cool fort last night we wanted to make you pancakes." Ryland continued with an innocent smile. Just as Tony was about to reply they heard a small voice down the hall.
"I believe Anya's up." Pepper noted as she poured pancake batter onto the griddle. Tony quickly left them to get Anya in the guest bedroom down the hall. The door shut because Anya liked it dark so he opened the door slowly only to find the little girl standing up in the Pack-N-Play.
"Hey, Ace," Tony said softly as he entered the room. She looked very confused for a few minutes and Tony realized she probably forgot she'd spent the night with him last night. He approached her just as her lower lips started to tremble. "Oh hey, it's alright, Ace. Everything gonna be fine." He said as he quickly picked her up. Just like the previous day, she just curled her head into his shoulder and started to silently cry.
"Pepper!" Tony cried, scurrying into the kitchen where his wife was finishing up the first batch of pancakes. "She's doing that silent crying thing again and it's killing me." He said with a hint of desperation in his voice. Even though Anya's face wasn't visible to Pepper she could tell the baby was upset if just by her posture alone.
"Why don't you bring her down to Clint and Natasha, I'm sure they're already up. Hurry back though, the pancakes are almost ready." Pepper replied as she flipped another pancake. Tony agreed and went to get Anya's things from the guest room where they'd left everything.
"Here's your puppy, you want that?" Tony spoke softly to Anya as he handed her to floppy eared stuffed puppy. She immediately grabbed it and held it close to her chest, still curled up close to Tony's chest where the dull hum of his arc reactor soothed her a little. "Alright lets head down to your parents." He mumbled as he gathered the rest of her things and walked out to the elevator. When they arrived at Clint and Natasha's front door Anya immediately perked up a little bit.
Tony didn't bother knocking cause he knew the door would be open, so he just pushed inside and called out to his assassin buddies. "I'm returning your child!" Tony called throughout the apartment. He checked the living room and the kitchen before wondering down the back hallway where he checked Anya's room and paused in front of Clint and Natasha's bedroom door. He wasn't going to barge in- especially after their romantic night- but he wasn't going to just leave Anya there without first handing her off to one of them. So he went to open the door but a voice on the other side stopped him.
"If you so much as touch that doorknob you'll be missing a hand, Stark." Natasha threatened through the closed door. Tony cringed and moved backwards from the door, not even questioning how Natasha heard him.
"I'll just…wait here then…" Tony mumbled, shifting his weight from one leg to the other awkwardly. He could hear Clint and Natasha fumbling around on the other side of the door- struggling to get dressed quickly, no doubt- and eventually the door flung open.
"Hey there, Baby Girl!" Natasha said sweetly as she reached for Anya who was all smiles once again. Anya wiggled out of Tony's arms and into Natasha's where she curled into Natasha's side happily. It was clear the baby was glad to be home again even if she was only away one night.
"Have fun?" Tony teased as Clint appeared behind Natasha in just boxers. Clint smiled triumphantly back at Stark but winced when Natasha elbowed him in the gut.
"Thanks for watching her." Natasha said as she walked Tony back to the front door.
"It was no problem at all. She started crying a little but after she settled down she was a doll." Tony replied as he handed Clint Anya's over-night bag.
"Yeah we probably should've warned you about that heartbreaking silent crying thing she does." Clint mumbled with a chuckle but Tony just nodded. "Before this one I wasn't aware anything so silent could be so heartbreaking."
"It's really heartbreaking." Tony agreed before chuckling and stepping into the elevator. Clint thanked him again as the elevator doors closed and he was gone.
"Dada!" Anya cheered, reaching for Clint who immediately scooped her up and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, Little Bird, I missed you." Clint said as he cuddled Anya closer to him with a smile. "Though I would've liked just a few more minutes without you…" Clint whispered but Natasha heard and clocked him upside the head.
"Put some pants on, Barton." Natasha ordered as she took Anya back from Clint's arms. He grumbled something under his breath as he rubbed the back of his head and trudged off to the bedroom to dress himself. Natasha just chuckled at him and brought Anya to her room to change her. "Did you have fun with Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper and Ryland?" she asked Anya as she went to the closer to pick out a pink sweater and a pair of dark wash jeans.
Anya started talking as Natasha dressed her. It was mostly nonsense but there were words mixed in and the baby talk was absolutely adorable so Natasha just smiled and played along, all the while wondering what Anya was actually trying to tell her. By the time Anya was dressed Clint wondered into her nursery in dark wash jeans and purple Converse sneakers, pulling a black V-neck tee shirt over his head.
"Better?" he asked as he pulled the shirt over his abs. Natasha smiled and said yes as she sat in the glider by Anya's crib, running a brush through the baby's curls. Anya's hair was getting so long that Natasha could pull it back into a cute French braid.
"Why don't you two get breakfast while I get dressed?" Natasha suggested as she sat Anya down on the floor where she took off running for Clint's legs. He spread his legs wider so she could run between them giggling. He followed her to the kitchen where she struggled to open the pantry door so he helped swing the door open and they both took a step inside.
"Pick something easy, Ace; cause my track record aint so great when it comes to food." Clint told her as she looked through the food on the shelves closes to her. She picked up a can of soup and handed it to Clint before grabbing a box of cookies, handing them to Clint then running away. "A breakfast for champions," Clint told her sarcastically as he put the items back on the shelf when she was gone. Instead of making cookie soup, Clint grabbed a different box off the shelf and went about making a real breakfast.
"HELP! HELP!" a small voice yelled from the living room so Clint quickly rushed into the living room where he found Anya stuck in her toy chest upside-down, her legs waving about in the air.
"How do you always manage to get stuck like this?" Clint asked rhetorically as he pulled her out of the bin and sat her upright on the floor. She looked disoriented and a little scared for a minute before she went back to playing. She was lining up all the toy cars she had on the coffee table, making sure they were all in a perfect line. No one knew where Anya got her touch of OCD from but she always liked thing a certain way and if you weren't going to go along with her plan than you could step aside and let her do it alone. Clint stopped being able to play with her shortly after these OCD tendencies arose. He didn't play right and she'd just get frustrated and shoo him away.
The microwave beeped in the kitchen and Clint stood up, motioning for Anya to follow him, saying, "Time for breakfast, Little Bird."
"Brefass?" she asked him, tilting her head to the side as she stood by the coffee table. Clint corrected her as he nodded and so she followed him to the kitchen where Clint helped her into her highchair.
"Alrighty, Anya, breakfast is served." Clint said grandly. Having mastered the art of instant oatmeal, he presented a pink bowl of the brown sugar mush to her.
"No," Anya replied, shaking he head and refusing the food.
"Awe c'mon, Ace, its real good I promise. I know you normally can't trust a thing I make but this is good, I swear." Clint told her but Anya just shook her head. "Look, kiddo, I spent 3 minutes microwaving this you could at least try it before crushing my confidence like this."
"No," Anya said sternly, crossing her little arms over her chest. Clint threw his head back and heaved a sigh.
"You gotta eat the oatmeal, Ace, cause if you stop eating now you'll develop an eating disorder when you're older and I don't wanna wind up on some reality TV show with a daughter who weighs less than a penny. So...please eat the oatmeal." Clint rambled with desperation in his voice. But Anya just shook her head and pushed the little bowl away from her. "Natasha!" Clint called, finally giving up.
Natasha waltzed into the kitchen in jeans and a light turquoise button-up, black heels in her left hand. She took one look at the sight before her before gently taking Anya's little chin between her fingers and saying, "Eat the oatmeal now please, Any." calmly but seriously. Anya looked up at her mother for a second longer before grabbing the little spoon and eating a big bite of her breakfast. Clint stood back and watched with his jaw open wide.
"How do you do that?" He asked in wonderment as he watched Anya eat her oatmeal like she loved it.
Natasha smiled and patted Clint's chest lightly. "You have to be firm with her or else she'll walk all over you, Clint." She said with a small smile before kissing his cheek and walking away.
"Yeah she's just like her mother!"
~!~!~!~
Steve decided to sleep in Saturday morning so when his cell phone started ringing it confused him greatly. For a second he thought it was his alarm clock then he remembered everyone used JARVIS as an alarm clock. Sitting straight up, Steve reached to the bedside table where his cell phone lay ringing. "Hello?" he asked groggily, holding the phone to his ear.
"Oh, Steve, I'm so sorry I woke you." Mickey replied from the other end of the phone call. Steve was surprised to hear from her but he'd be lying if he said it wasn't a pleasurable thing to wake up to. Much more inviting than Ryland jumping on him or Bruce accidently blowing something up. "Can I ask you a huge favor? It's totally fine if you say no."
"Ask away," Steve replied as he rubbed the back of his free hand against his eyes. He whispered for JARVIS to draw up the tinting on the windows of his room to let a little sunlight into the room. Steve threw back his sheets and stood up from bed, rolling his neck and stretching, balancing his phone between his shoulder and his cheek.
"I volunteer at a local orphanage and we were supposed to have a performer come today and put on a little show and presentation for the kids today but he can't make it anymore. The kids are already gathered in the main hall and they're all pretty sad this guy isn't gonna make it. So we were hoping maybe Captain America could make an appearance. Now, Steve, do not feel bad saying no. I know you can't just drop everything and come every time I call." Mickey explained through the phone. Steve could already hear the kids around her as she spoke.
"Sure I'll be right there." Steve replied without giving it a second thought. He smiled at how long Mickey paused.
"Are you sure? You really don't have to do it, Steve, I don't want you to feel obligated…" she started to say but Steve just cut her off.
"How am I going to say no to you and a bunch of little kids?" he asked rhetorically with a smile. "Let me throw the suit on and I'll be right there."
He could hear Mickey's smile as she said, "Oh thank you so much, Steve. I owe you big time. Thank you, thank you! We're at Safe Anchorage Orphanage. Do you need directions?"
"Nope, I'll have JARVIS look it up for me. See you in a bit." Steve replied. They said goodbye and he hung up the phone call, tossing the cell phone onto his bed before going to the bathroom to brush his teeth and comb his hair. Steve kept one of his suits in his closet (and another upstairs with S.H.I.E.L.D.) so he went to put it on as he asked JARVIS for directions to the orphanage.
"Thanks, JARVIS." He shouted as he grabbed a trench coat out of his front hall closet. Hopefully the light tan coat would cover his suit enough that he could get in and out of the orphanage without too much trouble. It would take too long to walk so he went around to the front of the tower and caught a cab, giving the cabbie the directions JARVIS had given him.
"Hey, Captain America!" the cabby said joyfully as they pulled away from the tower. "My kid loves you. Spent my last paycheck buying him your toys."
"That's nice of you," Steve replied, smiling at the cabby from the backseat. "I'm headed to see some kids right now."
"Oh I'm sure that'll make them all real happy. Say, think you could sign something for my boy?" the cabby asking, peeking over the backseat at Steve who just shrugged and nodded. The cabby continued driving as he searched around his front seat for something for Steve to sign. He finally produced a photo of his little boy's baseball card and handed it to Steve along with a pen.
"His name is Miguel," the cabby said as Steve signed the photo to Miguel love Captain America and handed it back over the seat. "Thanks a lot, Captain, he's gonna love this. He's been pretty sad lately after we lost his mom to cancer. This'll sure brighten his day."
They pulled over in front of the orphanage and Steve paid the cab fare before saying, "Tell Miguel I told him to stay strong." with a smile.
"I will. Thank you, Captain." The cabby replied, saluting Steve who returned the gesture before walking away. He was smiling as he walked up the front stoop and through the orphanage doors. He barely got two feet inside the doorway before Mickey appeared and threw her arms around his neck, crushing him in a hug.
"Oh thank you so much for coming, Steve! Seriously you have no idea how much this means to the kids." She said as she smothered him in a hug. Steve chuckled and wrapped both arms around her small waist.
"It's my pleasure," Steve replied with a smile as Mickey pulled back. She absolutely beamed up at him before gesturing for him to follow her down a hallway. He made work of unbuttoning his trench coat to reveal his suit just as they approached a closed door. Mickey paused for a second, taking in the sight of Steve before her in his Captain America suit. It didn't matter that she already knew he was a superhero, the sight of him in the tight red, white and blue suit still took her back.
"Wait here a second while I introduce you." She requested after shaking off the girly feeling that suddenly rose in her stomach. Steve nodded and waited in the hall while Mickey walked through the door and into a classroom full of small children.
"I know how sad you guys are that we didn't get to see Mighty Michael today but I have a surprise for you all." Mickey said in a fanciful voice. "He's a real super guy and he's waiting out in the hall to talk to you guys. Are you excited?" she asked and the kids all cheered and asked who it was. "Well maybe if we call loud enough he'll hear us and come in, alright? So on the count of three I need you all to yell Captain America as loud as you can." At this, a few kids gasped and giggled, more than excited to meet a superhero.
"Okay. One! Two! Three!" Mickey counted loudly and as soon as she finished the last number all the children shouted Captain America as loud as they could. Right on cue, Steve burst through the door in his suit and all the kids cheered, some even screamed. Steve flashed a glowing smile and waved to the kids who were all squealing in delight.
"Welcome, Captain America!" Mickey greeted with a wide smile as Steve walked to stand next to her in front of the kids. "Do any of you guys have questions for Captain America?" she asked and almost every child's hand shot up in the air. Steve chuckled before picking out a little girl in the second row with brown curly pigtails high on her head.
"What's your question, lovely?" he asked, kneeling so he was eyelevel with her as she stood up amongst the seated children around her.
"Who made your suit?" she asked in a sweet voice. "Did your mommy pick it out?"
Steve chuckled but shook his head. "No my mommy didn't pick out my suit. This particular suit I'm wearing today was made by secret agent." He said and all the kids gasped. "His name was Phil Coulson and he had some design input." He told them with a nostalgic smile before picking another kid to ask a question.
The second kid he chose was a little boy with a shaggy blond hair not unlike Steve's color. "Where do you live when you're not fighting bad guys?" the little boy asked, tilting his head to the side.
"That's a very good question. You know that big ol building in Manhattan with the giant A on it? Well that's where I live with the rest of the Avengers." Steve replied and a few kids gasped and asked if he lived with Iron Man. "Yep, I live with Iron Man and Thor and Hawkeye and Black Widow and even The Hulk- but he only fits if he stays normal sized."
A few kids laughed before raising their hands again and so Steve picked yet another kid. The child he chose stood up on his tip-toes and still could barely even see over the boy in front of him. He spoke but Steve could barely hear him, so he motioned for the little boy to join him by the front of the room. The little boy smiled broadly and scurried up to Steve before asking, "What were you like before you were Captain America?" he asked in a small gentle voice.
Steve smiled at the boy, a sparkle in his blue eyes. "Not unlike you. I was very small and pretty weak before I became Captain America. In fact, I got bullied a lot. People used to beat me up all the time." Steve said and almost all the kids gasped and even a few said there's no way that was true. "Oh but it is true. I was just a little guy from Brooklyn."
"Then you got big and strong?" the little boy asked, looking up at Steve with hope in his eyes.
"A very special doctor helped me get big and strong, yes. But you know what he told me? He told me that a weak man knows the value of strength and power. When he made me big and strong he told me to stay true to who I am; to stay a good man and not just a perfect soldier. You know it doesn't matter how big you are so long as you have a good heart, that's what matters." Steve said passionately, remembering Dr. Erskine. He mussed the little boy's hair before letting him head back to his seat.
He took a few more questions from the kids before telling one of his many war stories, excluding the gory details and the bad parts that would give the kids nightmares. After his story Mickey gathered the kids for a craft and more than half the kids wanted to draw Captain America so he went around and helped the kids one by one get the shape of his shield right.
"They are in heaven." Mickey whispered to him as they stood off to the side watching the kids color. "Thank you so much for coming by. Most of these kids haven't even smiled in weeks but you've made this day perfect for them."
"They're good kids; all they need is a little inspiration." Steve replied softly. He smiled at Mickey, resisting the urge to reach down and hold her hand. "But you still owe me a favor for this."
Mickey smiled and promised to do anything for him but his reply was interrupted by a little girl walking up to Steve and asking for his attention. He knelt down to her level and asked what she wanted. She held up the picture she drew and said, "This is my sister Maia." in a low soft voice. Steve examined the photo, noting the little bed Maia was in next to Captain America. "She's sick in the hospital and she's really weak. But I drew you there beside her so you can make her stronger."
"This is a beautiful photo," Steve said slowly. He didn't know what else to say to such a small girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. So he opted for a hug instead. The little girl was so small that she all but disappeared in Steve's large arms. She curled into his chest with a smile as she wrapped her little arms around him as best she could.
"Thank you, Captain America." She said in her tiny voice as they pulled away.
"For what?" Steve asked, tilting his head to the side as he examined her beautiful big brown eyes.
"For making us strong."
Author's Note: What could possibly be better than Steve and a bunch of little kids? Absolutely nothing. Thanks for all the suggestions guys! Keep them coming! I've started working on the sequel so as I wish I could continue this story forever it's gotta wrap up at some point but I don't want the next chapters to all be set-up for the sequel so I want fluff and to make sure everyone sees what they want before it's over :) So let me know whatever you want to see!
As always, you can check out a set from this chapter on my Polyvore (samitballi. polyvore. com) under the title Part XlV :)
Thanks!