A/N: This chapter got edited. A lot. *rueful* *glances down* Also, I love you guys. *grin*
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Title: Cosmic Composite
Author: liketolaugh
Rating: T
Pairings: Tony/Pepper, Natasha/Steve
Genre: Family/Adventure
Warnings: AU, !spoilers for Winter Soldier onward, spoilers for Agents of SHIELD!
Summary: The exorcists reincarnate into Marvel's next generation. No one can figure out how. Still, it's nice to have a family. (Also includes Agents of SHIELD. AU starting one year before CA2. Major divergence begins after Age of Ultron.)
Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.
Lavi: 3 years, almost 4
Kanda: 3 years, almost 4
Lenalee: Not present
Allen: Almost a year
"You… little… demon!"
Oh, no.
Allen's breath caught in his chest and he squeezed under the crib as far as he could, eyes wide and terrified. She'd been getting worse and worse, hating him more and more and more, and… And now she'd gotten news, he didn't know what she'd learned, but she was so angry, so angry.
He didn't care anymore; he squealed and screamed as she put her hand under, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him out. He screamed and flailed and tried to kick; she held him too tight for him to struggle properly, though, and he could barely squirm.
Let me go! Let me go!
He didn't want this. He wanted to be gone. He wanted her gone.
Let me go! Don't touch me!
"I know you did something!"
Alcohol again. He cringed away, tears spilling down his cheeks, and tried to snarl at her, silver eyes wide. She shook him and he whimpered; it hurt. It hurt. Stop it. Stop touching me.
"I don't know what you did, little demon brat, but you did something! That's how they know where I am, and that's why I can't leave!"
Allen had no idea what she was talking about, he was pretty sure she was delusional now, and he didn't really care. He just needed to get… down…
Don't touch me, don't touch me, leave me alone!
He was scared, he was really scared, and he wanted her to put him down, before she took him to the cabinet or- He was shrieking, screaming and wailing, and he couldn't stop-
"Shut up!"
Her huge hand clamped on his throat and she released his wrist and Allen stopped screaming. And he didn't hear another word she said; his ears rang and his heart beat too fast, and...
I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, LET ME GO!
He was scared. He hurt. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't do more than swat weakly at her wrist, his feet kicking helplessly in the air, but he didn't want to die, he wouldn't, he wouldn't, he… needed… to...
Allen passed out.
He woke up a few hours later, in his crib, coughing weakly, genuinely surprised that he was still alive. But Marlisa wasn't that person yet. Not yet.
Allen was so scared.
The Quinjet landed with a jolt that made half its occupants wince in pain, and then shuddered to a halt as Steve released the controls. For a moment, all of them stayed silent, unwilling to be the first to move.
Wanda leaned against Scott, one arm around her stomach, grimacing slightly. He was wincing a little himself; his head injury and the graze on his side were taking their toll. Vision was eerily still, propped up in a seat, and Natasha and Sam sat across from each other with mirrored grim faces.
Bucky sat alone, tense and angry, brow furrowed in frustration. One arm hung limp, but the other cradled Yuu close, as if he was afraid that the moment he let go, Yuu would vanish. Maybe he was.
Finally, Natasha sighed and stood up. "Alright, boys, up and at 'em. Naptime's over."
Steve smiled wearily and stood up as well, followed by Sam, then Scott and Wanda, Rhodey carrying Vision, and finally, reluctantly, Bucky, still holding Yuu.
Steve understood; Bucky had only just adjusted to the compound, and he was wary of moving Yuu to a new place, one where he'd never been before. After what had happened, he'd be ten times as protective of his son.
But they were all exhausted, and injured, and Vision, who was still unconscious, was starting to worry Steve. And while Steve and Tony might have their differences, Steve didn't for a moment believe that Tony would do anything but his very best to keep them safe. Bucky met Steve's gaze, read it with the ease of long practice, and nodded. Yuu held his gaze for a moment before turning his face into Bucky's chest, fist clenched in his shirt. Steve knew the proud boy would never admit it, but he'd been shaken by the day's events, too.
The Avengers disembarked the Quinjet in ones and twos, quiet and at once grim and tired. They entered the building like that, crossing from concrete to carpet with dragging steps.
Tony was waiting for them inside, arms crossed and leaning casually back on the wall like he owned the place, which he did. At his feet, a little redheaded boy fidgeted impatiently. It took Steve a moment to realize that this was Lavi.
Steve almost smiled. "He's gotten so big," he told Tony, and a bitter smile flicked across the other man's face.
"'Course he has. It's been nearly a year, after all. Must've gotten lost in all your other ones if you hadn't noticed, grandpa."
It was a weak jab and they both knew it. Steve almost feel Natasha rolling her eyes at both of them. Fortunately, Lavi spared them any further awkwardness by tearing across the No Man's Land between them to throw himself at Steve, squealing.
"Steeeve!"
Steve caught the little boy, winced slightly at the pull of healing bruises, and couldn't help but chuckle. He'd missed little Lavi. "Hey, little tyke. How've you been? Not getting up to too much trouble?"
"Noo!" Lavi protested. "Daddy teaching me 'botics an' Mommy takes me t'board meetings and says boring things." He peeked past Steve. "Tasha! Mommy miss you!"
"I missed Pepper too, zaichik," Natasha said warmly, popping Lavi on the nose for a giggle. "Are you being good for her?" Conspiratorially, she added, "I don't mind if you weren't good for your daddy."
Lavi giggled, and then he looked past Natasha, too. His vivid green eyes landed on Yuu's navy, and for a moment, both of them stared at each other. Lavi tilted his head slightly, and Yuu gazed back, eyes dark with something unreadable.
Then Lavi grinned, big and bright, and waved. "Yuu!" he called out happily, a plethora of emotions even Natasha couldn't hope to decode weaving through the tone. "Hi!"
Yuu, who had thus far been staring at Lavi like he couldn't believe his eyes, smirked and rolled his eyes. "Stupi' rabbit," he tossed back ."Time an' place."
Lavi's face fell and turned serious, and in the next breath, Tony swept forward and drew their attention.
"Alright, ladies and boys, meet and greet's over. Except you." He pointed at Scott, who was holding himself awkwardly even as he supported Wanda, wincing. "I don't know you."
Scott smiled, painfully polite. "Scott Lang. You probably know me as Ant-Man."
"Gotcha, shrink," Tony agreed cheerfully. "Now, I've called a doctor and she's on her way, but 'til then, I'm pretty sure protocol demands that all injured must be confined and strapped to bed, right, Capsicle?"
Steve rolled his eyes, a familiar wash of fond exasperation rolling over him. "Don't exaggerate, Stark."
Tony shared a grin with Lavi, and Natasha cleared her throat and nodded to the injured, which made Tony turn serious again.
Tony may be prone to mistakes and rash decisions, but he was brilliant in a crisis. Steve had to give him that much.
On the medical floor, Steve let Lavi down while Sam and Rhodey corralled Wanda, Scott, and Bucky into beds, Vision safely laid out on a fourth.
Bucky, still rattled, kept Yuu safely ensconced in his lap, metal arm hanging uselessly but flesh wrapped around his son like a shield. Lavi scrambled instantly up beside him and then, to Steve's surprise, hugged Yuu tightly, around Bucky's arm.
Yuu struggled and squirmed; ruefully, Steve noted that he at least seemed alright now. "Ge' off me, stupi' rabbit!"
Lavi let go and sat back to grin at Yuu, eyes sparkling, and for some reason, Yuu flushed slightly and cast his eyes to the ground.
"Gonna cut you up," Yuu muttered mulishly. Lavi just laughed and tipped his head back to grin at Bucky, who frowned down at him, unsure of what to think.
Lavi had it handled, though; he stuck his hand out, grinning cheerfully. "Hi! I'm Lavi! Are you Yuu's daddy?"
Bucky considered him for a long moment before reluctantly taking Lavi's tiny hand and shaking it. "I am. Are you Stark's son?"
"Uh-huh!" Lavi confirmed, grin never wavering.
Lavi was, in all honesty, thrilled. He'd been so worried that he was alone, but Yuu- Yuu was right there, scowling and pouting and perfectly okay.
Lavi was really glad that Yuu was okay.
Yuu finally glanced back up from the ground, flush still coloring his cheeks, and Lavi caught a hint of his own relief reflected in his old friend's eyes, set over chubby cheeks, big and childish.
Keeping his smile, Lavi tilted his head inquisitively at Bucky. An answering smile, brief but genuine, flickered across Yuu's face, and the other boy shrugged. Lavi's grin widened, warm and pleased.
Yuu had a daddy, too? Good. He deserved one. He got too much crap.
"-and I can x-ray Yuu's leg myself while FRIDAY runs some scans on Vision," Tony finished triumphantly, drawing Lavi's attention. Lavi frowned and looked at Yuu again, who snorted and crossed his arms.
"'M fine," he muttered irritably, and Lavi grinned. Same old Yuu.
"Can you do this now?" Bucky asked, and Tony nodded.
"Of course! Obviously, didn't I just say that? Here, I'll take Lavi and you take Yuu, and we can leave the boys in the room to bond while I do the scan."
Tony's eyes flickered to Lavi's, and Lavi nearly collapsed in relief. He'd been worried that he wouldn't get a chance to talk to Yuu alone, but it looked like his dad had that covered. He had the best dad, clearly.
Bucky, though, instantly turned suspicious. "You want me to leave Yuu in the room alone?" he asked, voice deepening into a dangerous growl.
Lavi felt sort of insulted. Tony had just said that he'd be with Yuu.
Tony, on the other hand, smiled, strangely understanding. "It's just for a minute. We'll be able to see them the entire time, and I'll be able to show you the x-ray and answer any questions."
After a long moment of strained silence, Bucky finally took a deep breath and nodded jerkily, still looking rather conflicted. Tony smiled.
"Thanks, Barnes."
It took ten minutes to get the boys settled in the x-ray room, one of Yuu's legs stretched out under a thick sheet, and Lavi slightly behind him, sitting up. Yuu was propping himself up on one arm, half twisted to keep Lavi in sight.
As soon as the door fell shut behind the two adults, Yuu demanded, "Rabbit, what?"
Ah, Yuu. Lavi had missed him.
"I dunno," Lavi confessed, and Yuu scowled at him. Lavi laughed and continued, "I didn' even know anyone else was… Here." Alive.
"...Me, either," Yuu admitted, visibly reluctant. His head dipped, and his shoulders shook. His breath hitched, but he didn't cry. "Didn' think…"
"Yeah," Lavi agreed softly. "Yeah."
Bucky woke up, as usual, at exactly 7 in the morning, with Yuu curled up against his chest, fast asleep, using Bucky's metal arm of death as a blanket. Bucky watched him with a small smile for who-knew-how-long, but eventually it morphed into a pensive frown.
He hadn't brought it up, because getting settled into Stark Tower - now, apparently, once again Avengers Tower - was difficult for both of them, but he had a lot of questions for Yuu.
Like how he'd been able to heal that way. How much he knew about his own past. If he knew anything about the questions Bucky'd been wondering about for some time, about the crosses on Yuu's wrists or the symbol on his shoulder. How he knew English.
He didn't move, though, so it was 7:23 before Yuu stirred, shifting and then tilting his head back to look at him blearily.
"Good morning," Bucky told him, watching Yuu blink navy eyes and frown.
"Mornin'," Yuu mumbled, squirming out from under Bucky's arm and sitting up on his knees. He rubbed at his eye with one fist and asked, "We staying here?"
Yuu had taken to asking that every time he woke up; he seemed strangely worried by the idea of leaving. Bucky sighed and placed his hand on Yuu's head, making him stop rubbing and frown up at him. "Yes, Yuu, we're staying."
Yuu smiled briefly and then hopped off the bed. Bucky chuckled quietly and rolled over to stand up as well, and Yuu scurried ahead of him to hop at the door impatiently, borrowed purple dragon pajamas flapping.
"We need to dress you first," Bucky informed him, making Yuu huff but move back to the bed. He was still waiting there impatiently when Bucky emerged from the closet with a small and a large set of clothes.
Bucky dressed himself first while Yuu fidgeted impatiently, and then knelt in front of Yuu to help him dress as well. However, no sooner did he pull Yuu's pajama shirt off than he went still.
Yuu tilted his head and frowned at him. "Bear?"
Bucky was focused on the little symbol on Yuu's shoulder. He reached out with his human hand and brushed his fingers over it, and Yuu went still as well, eyes widening slightly, looking at Bucky.
"Yuu," Bucky said quietly. "What is this?"
Yuu looked a little unnerved, but he tried to hide it, huffing. "Always have it, stupi' bear. You know."
Yes. Yes, Bucky did, except he didn't know how long 'always' extended. Because he couldn't fucking remember. "Yuu, do you know where it came from?"
Yuu shut his mouth, and for a long moment, he just stared at Bucky, and then he crossed his arms obstinately. Bucky grew worried.
"How were you able to heal?" he pushed, moving his hand to curl around Yuu's shoulder, steadying and a little desperate. Yuu dropped his gaze and scowled at the ground. "What are the crosses on your wrists? Yuu, how do you know English?"
Bucky stopped abruptly, cutting himself off. Tears were gathering in Yuu's eyes, and he was still scowling, refusing to speak, face pinched and splotched with unhappy pink. Bucky considered for a long moment, worried, and then finally asked,
"Do you know?"
Yuu reached up and scrubbed roughly at his eyes, and nodded.
"Can you tell me?"
Yuu shook his head. Bucky stared at him, an unnerving helpless feeling curling in his chest - why not? - but finally he sighed, patting Yuu's shoulder and reaching for his clothes.
"Okay, Yuu. I won't make you tell me. But I'm going to ask again."
Yuu made a soft, disgruntled sound, but he didn't resist as Bucky started to dress him in a little dark green shirt and a pair of overalls. Neither of them spoke through the whole process, until Bucky gave Yuu his socks to put on.
Yuu bent down and pulled the first one on, and then, halfway through the second, he paused, but didn't take his eyes off the sock.
Bucky frowned. "Yuu?"
"Same answer," Yuu said, softly and nonsensically.
"...I'm not sure I understand." Bucky shifted and frowned at him. "What has the same answer?"
"...Alla those questions. They got the same answer."
"Oh." Bucky considered that, brow furrowing. That could mean many things, the most likely of which was that it was HYDRA's fault. Yuu didn't look like he wanted to say anything else, though, so Bucky nodded. "I understand."
"Liar," Yuu mumbled, but he was smiling slightly as he finished pulling the sock on. Bucky reached for the hairbrush, and Yuu waited impatiently while Bucky brushed his hair, and, when Bucky finished, hopped off the bed. "Go now?"
Bucky nodded, and Yuu scurried over the door to wait again, though apparently much less eager than before. Bucky crossed the room and opened the door, but took Yuu's hand before they went anywhere; it would be far too easy to get lost in a place like this, where they even had their own floor. (Apparently Stark had not been as surprised by their arrival as he'd claimed; he'd modeled floors for all of the newer Avengers at some point, and had apparently even deduced enough from newscaps to figure out who would be best with who - Bucky and Yuu were currently sharing a floor with Scott.)
"Lavi and Steve are both in the common floor living room," FRIDAY said suddenly, making both of them start violently. "Additionally, the boss is in his lab, Mrs. Potts is in her office, and Natasha is in her room, but awake."
Bucky stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, and then shook his head incredulously. "Thank you, FRIDAY," he told the ceiling, with a slight undercurrent of dry sarcasm he hadn't used in years. Yuu smirked softly, and they both entered the elevator, which took them down to said common floor without prompting. Bucky sighed.
Stark was weird.
In the living room, Steve was smiling fondly at Lavi, who was kneeling on the couch beside him, chattering and gesticulating wildly, green eyes sparkling. (Lavi had the same crossmarks on his wrists Yuu did, which raised a whole new set of questions.) Steve had admitted to Bucky, once or twice, that he'd missed the little tyke; it looked like Lavi had missed him, too.
As soon as Lavi saw them, though, he exclaimed "Yuu!" and scrambled off the couch to dart over to them. Yuu growled softly, squeezing Bucky's hand before he let go to cross his arms.
"What you want, stupi' rabbit?"
Bucky still hadn't figured out whether or not Lavi and Yuu were getting along well.
Lavi didn't look bothered by the nickname; he grinned widely and waved at Yuu. "Mornin', Yuu! Didja dream of butterflies and flowers?"
Yuu growled at Lavi and sniped, "No, 'cause I'm not a girly boy, 'nlike somebody."
Bucky chuckled quietly and left both boys to it, instead going to sit beside Steve, who was laughing quietly, shaking his head. He waved at Bucky as he approached, smile not wavering in the slightest.
"I can't decide if they're best friends or if they're doomed to never get along," he murmured, apparently agreeing with Bucky. "They really hit it off, though, didn't they?"
"If that's hitting it off, I'd hate to see 'hating each other on sight'," Bucky muttered, smiling slightly. Steve grinned, but it quickly faded.
"Buck. Did you…" He trailed off, glancing at Yuu with concern even as the boy growled and physically snatched at Lavi, who danced away, laughing. Bucky turned serious.
"I tried. Didn't find anything out." He shook his head. "I don't know what's up with him, Steve, but whatever it is, he won't talk about it. Not to me."
"And if not to you, then probably not to anyone," Steve concluded, sighing. Bucky shrugged and turned his head to watch Yuu chase Lavi around the room, yelling about cutting him open. Yuu had such a graphic imagination sometimes.
"So, what's up with you and Stark? Still not talking?"
Steve wrinkled his nose. "Ah, sort of. We've called a bit of a truce. I think Pepper still hasn't forgiven him."
Bucky smirked briefly. "Woman like that could be mad at me all she wants," he said, and the joke felt weird on his tongue, but the startled, beaming grin that lit up Steve's face was worth it.
"She's taken, Bucky," Steve replied, apparently on autopilot, eyes still sparkling.
"Well, damn," Bucky said, not meaning a word and completely missing Lavi dragging Yuu out of the room. "Think they'd be up for a threesome?"
"Bucky!" Steve turned bright red, and Bucky grinned, honestly grinned. And it felt good.
He'd missed Steve.
"Where the fuck you takin' me?" Kanda demanded of Lavi, who grinned at him; apparently he still hadn't gotten over the thrill of being sure he wasn't alone.
And, okay, Kanda might be a little happy about that too. Just a little.
"Daddy's in his workshop!" Lavi told him cheerfully. Kanda got fed up and twisted his wrist out of Lavi's grip; Lavi's grin never faltered. "I wan' you to meet 'im."
Kanda's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I did meet him."
"Not for real!" Lavi told him, grin widening impossibly. "'Cause see, he knows. Him an' Mommy."
Yuu's eyes widened. "You told them?"
Lavi bobbed his head, reaching up to push the door open. "Uh-huh! I'm kinda surprised you didn'." Then he thought about it a little more. "Well, maybe not." And then, seeing that they were inside, he called out, "Daddy!"
"Lavi, little buddy!" Tony, who'd been sitting with his back to them, apparently working with something on his… holograms, whatever, sat up and whirled around, spreading his arms in greeting. "Brought your friend?"
"Yeah!" Lavi assured him. He pushed Yuu forward, and Yuu growled and swatted at him, not looking at Tony. "This is Yuu! He's like me, see?"
"Not really," Tony admitted cheerfully. "But it's good to meet Yuu." He grinned, and Kanda scowled at him blackly.
"It's not funny!" he growled at him, navy eyes snapping with irritation. And then, to Lavi, "What the fuck didja tell him?"
Lavi turned serious, smile falling into a straight line, but it was Tony who answered, standing up and striding over to them, all arrogance and show.
"Not much," Tony said, a strange mixture of careful and carefully maintained cheer. "I know that you're Lavi's friend, that you were in the Order a lot longer than he was, and that the Order did something awful to you, but not what." He cocked an eyebrow at Yuu, who scowled at him. "That was what you were worried about, right?"
"...Yeah," Kanda muttered, turning his scowl to the ground and relaxing slightly.
"Yuu doesn't like ta talk 'bout things," Lavi explained to Tony, cheer returning en force. "He hasn' even told Bucky!"
At that, Tony looked genuinely surprised, and maybe a little alarmed; Kanda scowled at him until he shrugged with forced carelessness and leaned back on nothing, casual as anything.
"Yuu have that choice, I guess," he said offhandedly, and Kanda scowled at him again.
"Shut up!"
Tony laughed and got up, crossing toward them, and Kanda stared at him suspiciously as he crouched in front of him and held out his hand.
"It is good to meet you, though," Tony said, and Kanda stared at him for a moment before finally reaching out to grasp his hand in tiny fingers.
"Could be worse," he muttered, and both Tony and Lavi laughed, Tony straightening up again.
"So what happened?" Lavi asked Kanda, prodding him until Kanda swatted his hand with a glare.
"CROW got me while I was at home, cut me open from my gut to my shoulder," Kanda snapped at him. Lavi flinched, worry and pain crossing his eyes, and Kanda forced himself to calm down a little, no matter how much he wanted to rage. (It had been so unfair. So unfair…) "Then when I woke up, HYDRA had grown me in a tank. The bear probably thinks that the tattoo an' stuff is HYDRA's fault, by the way, so I wanna keep it like that."
Tony, pretending to work, tensed slightly, swallowing. Well, shit. He'd heard so much about Yuu he almost felt like he knew him already, and that… was a very unpleasant thing to hear. He'd need to see about finding out more; he wouldn't just sit around and let these kids hurt. Not today and not ever.
"The bear?" Lavi questioned with interest, passing over the obvious implications of the tank comment for now. Kanda rolled his eyes.
"Dad," he explained, exasperated.
"You call Bucky the bear?" Tony, effectively distracted, asked with glee, watching them both avidly. Kanda scowled at him belligerently, again.
"Yeah. 'Cause I didn' know his name 'fore. Obviously."
"Obviously," Tony agreed, amused and relaxing slightly. Good to know that Yuu had someone to look after him, after all. "I am never letting him live that down."
Lavi giggled, and Kanda growled at both of them.
"Yuu won't ever live your name down, either," Lavi said with a grin at Kanda, who didn't miss a beat before tackling Lavi outright, and both of them wrestled, turning over and over and rolling across the ground while Tony laughed at both of them.
This lasted right up until Dummy wheeled over to see what all the commotion was about, and nudged them apart with a powerful push of his 'hand', whirring in confusion. Yuu stared at him.
"The fuck?" Kanda asked the bot.
"That's Dummy," Lavi told him.
"Awesome," Kanda said sarcastically, letting his head thump to the ground. "More 'bots."
Lavi grinned. "Reminds you of Komulin, right?"
"Yeah," Kanda replied without thinking, and his eyes widened slightly, and then he almost smiled.
It was kinda nice to remember, Kanda decided, except, obviously, for when it wasn't.
For a few moments, both boys were silent. Dummy chirped concernedly, leaning over them, and Tony glanced over, considering them with a deep furrow in his brow and a frown tugging at his mouth.
"Hey, Yuu?" Lavi asked suddenly, a lot softer and a lot more vulnerable. Kanda sat up to frown at him.
"What, stupid rabbit?"
"...Do you think the others are here, too?" Lavi looked worried, and it didn't take long for Kanda to follow his train of thought and turn solemn as well.
"Yeah, I do, stupid rabbit."
"...Think they're in trouble?"
"They better not be," Kanda growled, but he was worried, too.
After all, he and Lavi had come out alright, but Lenalee and Allen had pretty bad luck. They might not have.
Abruptly, Kanda rolled over, startling Dummy into rolling back, and looked at Lavi intently. "An' wha' happened t'you? How they get you?"
Lavi looked away, face pinched. "Got me in th' Black Hills. USA. Caught me by surprise." He hiccuped, face flushing with distress. "I burned."
Tony flinched. He didn't like to think about that much more than Lavi did, and fire had been featured more in his nightmares lately than water had.
Kanda studied him for a moment, but his face was strained. His face was blotchy with the effort it took to remain reserved. "Wanna…" His voice wavered. He clenched his jaw and tried again. "I feel too small."
...Too small? Of course. They'd been stripped of most of their independence.
Deliberately, Tony turned away. Well, he wasn't going to try and make that in particular any harder than it was already.
Lavi glanced back to him, the redness fading from his face as his look turned thoughtful, almost hopeful. "...We can try an' ge' strong," he offered hesitantly.
"...Yeah." Kanda stood up and held out a hand, face strangely serious and solemn for such a little boy, and Lavi took it, letting Kanda haul him to his feet.
Ten minutes later, they were sparring, in tiny bodies unsuited to the task with memories of exactly how these fights should go. It was frustrating.
But they'd get better.
It was a while after that when both boys returned to the common floor to claim breakfast, mostly satisfied for now, and Tony followed because he needed his fix of coffee after his all-nighter.
Scott had appeared, and was eating cereal in the kitchen. Lavi's eyes lit up on seeing him, and he scurried over to man's feet to grin up at him. Yuu was only a few steps behind.
"I feel abandoned," Tony complained, making a beeline for the coffee machine. "What the hell, Lang? What do you give these kids, candy?"
"Sometimes," Scott said with a small, slightly awkward smile. He still wasn't completely comfortable around the billionaire. Instead of further engaging the other adult, he looked down at the two kids, who looked back up at him expectantly. "What's up, Yuu, Lavi? Did something interesting happen, or was Tony just being Tony?"
"Daddy was being Daddy," Lavi said happily, and ignored Tony's sputtering. "What you having?"
Scott shrugged and helped Lavi clamber up onto a stool, and then Yuu climbed up before he could likewise be helped. "Boring Cheerios. Do you want to try?"
Lavi considered the bowl, and then shook his head decisively. "Nah! They look gross."
"Maybe to you," Scott said with a small smile, turning back to his bowl. "What about you, Yuu? I know you don't like sweets."
"You don't like sweets?" Tony asked Kanda, horrified. Kanda ignored him and nodded, and chewed the spoonful Scott offered thoughtfully.
"I like 'em," Yuu declared at last, peering at them thoughtfully. "But I like toast better."
Yuu was very stuck in his ways for a small child, Scott noted with amusement. "Fair enough. I'll keep these, then."
At that point, Tony finished his first cup of coffee and took the opportunity to pop some bread into the toaster, something even he couldn't mess up. Both boys liked toast, only Lavi liked his with jam.
All four of them were just finishing up when Bucky entered, and coincidentally, this was the same moment when Kanda swatted Lavi for trying to steal the last of his toast.
"Yuu!" Bucky said sternly, making Yuu freeze guiltily. "What did I say about hitting?"
"...Don' hit," Yuu muttered sulkily. Lavi's eyes lit up with glee, but fortunately for him, he had the good sense not to laugh aloud. It was a fairly new rule, and Kanda still could hardly believe the indignity of it. (Not to mention, that was exactly what he and Lavi had spent the last hour doing.)
"That's right," Bucky agreed, and it was good that Yuu wasn't looking at him, because he was having a little trouble maintaining a straight face himself. (It was Steve, actually, who had insisted that he curb Yuu's violence early.) "You know what that means, don't you?"
Yuu hunched down and scowled at the counter. "...Time out."
Lavi giggled. Sure, he'd been subjected to time-out a few times himself, and it sucked, but still. This was Kanda, and it was so funny. Kanda growled at him irately, but at Bucky's pointed clearing of the throat, he hopped down from the stool and shuffled over to Bucky, scowling at the ground.
"Sit by the television," Bucky instructed him, stern expression twitching slightly with amusement. "You will be in time out for five minutes."
Kanda grunted unhappily and stomped over to the television, then plopped down and closed his eyes, trying to ignore Lavi's badly muffled giggles.
Well, now would be as good a time as any to take another stab at meditation. Take that, time out.
Anyway, it was about time he stopped giving in to his age. It was making him weak.
Meanwhile, Lavi had taken an interest in the android who had just entered.
He'd seen him around, of course; hell, Tony had worked on him for an entire day before he was up and running, and Lavi had popped in a few times during that. He had JARVIS' voice.
Lavi kinda wanted to know what else he had of JARVIS. Except, he also kinda didn't.
You didn't gain anything by being afraid, though, so he scurried over to the android and beamed up at him, while Vision looked down at him curiously. Yup, there was no missing the spark of recognition in those eyes.
"Lavi?" Vision asked in JARVIS' voice, and Lavi very pointedly didn't flinch.
"Yeah!" Lavi chirped. "An' you're Vision!"
"That is correct," Vision affirmed, seating himself on the couch. Lavi didn't wait to be invited, hopping up to seat himself on Vision's lap, not taking his bright green eyes off him. "What business have you with me, Lavi?"
Lavi was glad no one was paying attention to them. He really was.
He shrugged, eyes wide and innocent. "I haven' talked to you yet." He considered. "Or Wanda." The Scarlet Witch was a hard woman to find, even living with them.
"Wanda does not respond well to change," Vision agreed, solemn. "She will adjust, however." He considered Lavi for a moment. "Did you wish to talk to me about yourself?"
Lavi shrugged. Well, that answered that question. "I miss JARVIS," he admitted instead of answering, but then he said, "Can we be friends?"
Vision studied him, frowning. "I am not JARVIS," he reminded him reproachfully.
Lavi shrugged. "I know. But Yuu likes you, right?"
"...He does." Vision looked thoughtful again.
Lavi nodded. "Then we can be friends." He tapped Vision on the nose and giggled when the android went cross-eyed, startled. "An' friends can share secrets with friends, right? 'Cause they don' tell."
"Of course," Vision replied, offering a small smile. "Your secrets are safe with me, Lavi Stark."
Lavi grinned at him, and then turned his attention to Bucky, who glanced at the clock and nodded.
"Yuu's time out is over," Bucky announced, and though Lavi was sure that Yuu had heard, he glanced over and… oh. Looks like Yuu finally managed to meditate. Must've been trying really hard, Lavi mused.
Scott glanced over, saw something slightly different from Lavi, and chuckled. "I'll tell him," he said, starting to rise.
"Don'," Lavi said suddenly, making both men start and look at him. Vision, however, studied him thoughtfully, and Lavi tried not to wince; Yuu would kill him if he gave him away, even to Vision. "He's meditating, see? Don' bug him."
Scott and Bucky both stared at Yuu, perfectly still, and then Scott shrugged and sat back down.
"Your kid is weird," he told Bucky, and Bucky didn't deny it, gazing at Kanda thoughtfully.
Kanda hadn't been able to see, before, why Lenalee loved to fly so much. Now he could.
It was honestly fun, hovering in the air, supported only by the red glow of Wanda's magic. Lavi was across from him, and blocks floated haphazardly around them; he had to admire Wanda's concentration, releasing each one just as one of them grabbed it, while simultaneously sending more up and placing some of her own.
Yuu peeked down. Wanda was smiling faintly up at them, a sparkle in her eyes, and he smiled, then looked back up and grabbed another block, which fell obediently into his hand, and kicked a little, wanting to go up a little higher.
"Holy shit why is that tower so high?"
Kanda looked down again and smirked at Sam's horrified, morbidly fascinated expression.
"Hate to say it, but Scott might have a point when he says that you people get up to some strange things," Sam said to Wanda with a rueful smile. Wanda shrugged at him, smile fading only slightly.
"The children enjoy it," she explained, and then placed three blocks at once, lifting both children up to match. Lavi squeaked happily and Kanda smirked at him.
"I'm sure," Sam chuckled, tilting his head back to look at them. "And that has nothing to do with the fact that they're, what, seven feet in the air? You're gonna give Bucky a heart attack."
"Eight," Wanda corrected, focus never wavering. "And everyone is enjoying themselves, so why should Bucky concern himself with it?"
Sam stared at her. "I feel like I should be worried," he admitted, and Wanda positively smirked.
At that moment, Lavi reached over and tugged playfully at Kanda's hair, and Kanda snarled at him and struggled to get at him, no hitting rule be damned. Wanda considered and then prudently, if reluctantly, decided to let the two children down, and Kanda chased Lavi around the room, growling death threats and something about putting out his eye.
"I'm pretty sure they're friends," Sam decided. "Do you think they're friends?"
Wanda watched both of them wistfully, and was silent for long enough that Sam glanced up at her, brow furrowing in concern.
"No," Wanda said at last, smile soft and sad. "I do not think that they are friends. I think that they are brothers."
Sam blinked at her, and then looked again at the two boys. A small smile played about his mouth.
"Yeah. Maybe they are."
And you get your promised meeting, some development, etc. *smile* Thanks for reading, and please review!
Allen's rescue: 1 chapter to go. (Yes, next chapter.)