Author's Note:
I would like to welcome and thank you all back! You all are amazing :D
The summer seemed to fly by, with Chloe doing three days at Stark Industries, spending the two nights between at a friend's. Selina was attending dance classes for two days and had made some more friends, with whom she would happily spend time when her parents and Chloe were busy. Steve was spending most of his time at S.H.I.E.L.D, especially with everything going on with the inhumans. Natasha was actually going on a missions, or briefing the members of her team who had missions.
Bucky had decided to sign the Accords and was legalised, but only would go on a mission if Natasha was there too - he was currently on a probationary period. But he didn't mind, seeing as he and Maria were getting married next month, a few weeks before Chloe, Selina and the rest of the children would be going back to school.
The exciting event coming up next, however, was Howie's first birthday. Nobody really knew what to expect - Tony and Pepper obviously had very different ideas on how to celebrate it; only time would tell which parent managed to have the bigger impact on the party.
One thing that seemed to stay the same, though, was Rhodey and Wanda's growing relationship. Even though they started their relationship heatedly, it almost diminished during the pregnancy and Arianna's early days - it was easier to be friends whilst working out how to deal with everything going on. Relationships could be extremely messy. However, after the months went on, with Rhodey recovering nicely after his accident, and Arianna growing up, moments kept appearing that could change their dynamic completely. Neither of them minded when they ended up practically living together; all that was needed was an official conversation to set everything in stone. After all, even though they were in a relationship, and doing everything other couples did, there was something about the spoken word that made a bigger impact than one could imagine. That made it official.
Wanda finished dressing her twenty-two-month-old in leggings and a pretty dress - she had a surprising number of dresses, seeing as Wanda had never bought her daughter a single one. "There we go: perfection."
"Fanes, Mama!" Arianna replied, not quite being able to say 'thanks' yet, but it was close enough for Wanda and Rhodey. Seconds later, the young girl made a run for the door - which, thankfully, was locked. "Out, Mama! Out!"
"No, not yet - it's still early," she replied, even though she was sure everybody was already up. Probably training, preparing for a mission, or avoiding Natasha.
Rhodey stepped out of the bathroom, adjusting the sleeves of his shirt. "Kiddo, you driving your mama crazy again? Patience is a virtue." He went over and scooped their daughter into his arms with a laugh. "Besides, you're too cute to share with everybody else!"
"Dada! Out! Down! Out!" Arianna instructed, attempting to get out of his hold and back to the door.
Wanda watched with a smile. Something about a man being good with kids made him just so much more attractive. The questions were on her lips, the questions to validate everything that was going on, to have the words finally spoken, but she just couldn't work out how to start, so instead she watched the scene in silence.
Rhodey tickled Arianna's chin and planted a kiss on her chubby cheek. "Hey, you're my baby girl - you're supposed to wait until you're a teenager to start trying to get away from your old man!" He bounced her on his hip for a second before relenting and letting her down as she continued to insist. "I think she's started her terrible two's early."
"She is advanced for her age. Seems like yesterday I found out I was pregnant with her," Wanda reminisced.
A loving smile blossomed on his face at the mention of it. "I know, right? I still remember exactly how you told me - best news I've gotten in my life."
Best news? That was something he hadn't mentioned before. "I remember being terrified. We weren't even dating… aren't… What are we?" She suddenly asked. All of the thinking about this and that was how she brought it up? Very smooth.
Rhodey shrugged, although he looked thoughtful. "I don't know… I guess, back then, we were just two friends who accidentally wound up in bed together," he replied, shooting a hesitant glance at Arianna - as if she would understand what that meant to begin with. He shrugged again. "But whatever we were, I'm glad we're what we are now."
"But, what are we?" Wanda repeated; she couldn't live with the uncertainty anymore. "Are we two friends raising a kid together? Are we together? Will we ever be more?"
He blinked in surprise, bouncing Ari absently when she started fussing a bit. "Of course we're together! Wanda, I love you. I love spending time with you, I love raising our daughter with you, I love… this," he said, gesturing encompassingly with one hand, referring to their whole situation.
Relief filled her; she didn't know why she'd thought he'd say anything else, but it was a relief actually hearing it out loud. "Good," she said, standing up. "And I love you, too - and this whole situation."
He closed the distance between them and kissed her, Arianna taking advantage of the opportunity to transfer herself to her mother's arms.
"Out! Out!"
Wanda chuckled, leaning away from Rhodey and looking at their impatient daughter. "Can't you see we're having a moment?"
"Out, Mama! Out!" The child insisted.
"Looks like it's time for breakfast," Wanda said to Rhodey, an amused and happy smile on her lips. "Let's go out," she added before unlocking the door and exiting the room.
Pepper examined the streamers hanging from the doorway and checked to make sure they were all hanging properly, then scrutinised the birthday cake they'd ordered - Tony had wanted it to be Iron Man themed, of course, and she'd shut that down right off the bat; their son would celebrate his very first birthday with something cute: Winnie the Pooh. Then Tony had wanted all of the party favours to be little trinkets he'd thrown together in the lab - Pepper had quickly scrapped that idea (pun very much intended) and chosen specific favours for each guest.
Chloe was spending that day's interning helping set up for the party, and was in charge of pouring the punch into the cups and neatly arranging the food table - something that was originally Tony's job before Pepper caught him trying to spike the punch in what he'd labelled as Rhodey's cup. Honestly, he was more childish than their infant son.
"Come on, people, we've got twenty minutes before everyone starts arriving!" She called to the few people who had volunteered to help set up - mostly employees at Stark Industries who had been dying to meet their boss's kid for more than five minutes.
So far everything was coming together nicely - until her baby-senses went off and, with a groan, Pepper went to go check on the source of her bad feeling. She found the culprit red-handed in the armoury one floor down, apparently testing out RC controls. "Anthony Edward Stark, I told you - we are not flying robots of death around our son's birthday party like toy helicopters!"
"They are not flying robots of death," Tony replied with a roll of his eyes, hiding his remote behind his back. "These ones are flying planets… of death. They're baby-themed!" He defended.
She raised a brow and crossed her arms disapprovingly at the floating miniature solar system. "Impressive. Except that they're not baby-proofed. Those look heavy - if one of their systems fails, it could fall on someone and seriously cause some damage!"
Tony look offended about her insulting his work. "They would not fall! I created them," he defended once again. "But, if it means that much to you… I won't fly them over anybody's head. Problem solved. Great."
Pepper rolled her eyes, although she was laughing internally. He was so genuinely childish that it was endearing. When it wasn't unendingly annoying, that is. "Honey, how about we attach them to some strings and hang them over Howie's crib? It can be your handmade present."
"Oh no, these are way too expensive to have as an ornament - besides, they are heavy and will not be hovering above our baby whilst he sleeps."
Once again, she couldn't help but roll her eyes. "What exactly are you planning to do with them? How do they fit into any context in a Pooh-themed party? Are you going to be creepily standing in the corner all day, controlling them?"
Tony crossed his arms. "Winnie the Pooh is a stupid theme for a Stark, and no, F.R.I.D.A.Y can control them," he said before turning to the side and tinkering with Saturn, his pout rather pitiful.
Pepper sighed and ruffled his hair fondly before heading back upstairs to nitpick some more.
Steve couldn't help but smile at the extensive decorations filling the main living room at Stark Tower - Winnie the Pooh was everywhere. Finally, a reference he understood - his little neighbour had been all about the old Pooh books back in the thirties. Although the characters had definitely received an update since then, he noted. Tigger especially looked more… humanoid. He looked down at Selina, whose eyes brightened at the sight.
"Look at those balloons! They look like Piglet!" She exclaimed, looking absolutely delighted. Huh. He hadn't realised Selina liked Winnie the Pooh that much - maybe she'd like a few of the old books? He actually really liked the idea of reading the classics with his youngest daughter - it would be like sharing a piece of the past, his childhood and the culture he grew up in, with her.
"You like Piglet, huh?" He asked with a chuckle, turning his gaze to Natasha, walking on Selina's other side. "What about you, Nat? I think you'd be an Eeyore kind of person."
Natasha shook her head. "Surely I'm Kanga, and Selina is my little Roo."
Selina giggled and Steve's smile grew - while not often a word he associated with Natasha, he could firmly say that right now, she was adorable. "Then who am I? There's no father in that situation!"
She shrugged. "Owl?"
"I'm not that old!" He protested.
That was when Pepper came over, beaming at them. "You two are adorable - anyone ever told you that?"
"We're not adorable," Natasha said firmly, peering past her. "Where's the birthday boy?" She inquired, a common attempt at changing the subject or getting herself out of the conversation completely.
"He's here!" Came Tony's voice, electronically amplified. Steve turned to look at the elevator doors to see Tony marching in dramatically, Howie in his arms, being flanked by floating… planets? "The birthday boy makes a majestic entrance!" Steve rolled his eyes with a chuckle.
"Tony, I thought we agreed the planets would not float over people," she stressed slightly, taking Howie with a relieved look that nothing else had seemed to change. Tony shot a guilty look. "Have them floating out the window, over the porch - then everybody can see them and nobody is under them."
Tony smirked, obviously thrilled with the idea and went to see that was done.
As Steve made his way to follow him, he noticed Natasha taking a very happy little birthday boy into her arms.
Natasha sat down, picking up a glass of wine - alcohol at a child's party was a great idea - and began sipping it whilst watching everything, from Howie starting to get tired and clingy to his father to Selina and Lila playing their own little game on the floor. She noticed Chloe and Clint had struck up an in-depth conversation together, then noticed Steve and Bucky talking companionably seconds before Maria sat beside her and poured herself her own drink.
"Since when did we get invited to these things?" Maria asked her - the two of them had always shared a distaste for social events.
"When the war vets walked into our lives," Natasha answered simply, making sure not to drink too much - she didn't want Steve to remind her that they were setting examples now for two impressionable individuals.
Maria bowed her head in recognition of her words, her eyes floating to her fiance. "Touche."
"I can't believe you're getting married in nine days, Maria. Next you'll be annoying me because you're pregnant," Natasha replied with a hint of bitterness and exasperation, but it was mostly good heartedly.
The other woman shook her head. "Oh, no, definitely not. You're doing the unexpected children raising, and I'm doing the marriage. There is no reason for either of us to do both."
Natasha raised her brow at that statement, but decided to not comment on it. "You'll just have to keep Bucky's mind off babies, then, just like I'm trying to do with Steve, which you and Bucky are not helping."
"Well, Laura won't be helping the issue," Maria replied, taking a swig.
"What? Laura's not…" Natasha started before turning to look at one of her closest friends. It's wasn't common for Laura to drink anyway, so that wasn't unusual - however, she had disappeared out of the room an unusual number of times - some of them rapidly - and her boobs were bigger. How did she not see this before! Had she gone blind? Natasha stood up and walked straight over to Clint, punching him hard in the arm.
"Ow! What the hell!"
"And when were you planning on telling me?" Natasha demanded.
Clint grinned impishly and feigned innocence. "Telling you what?" He'd been talking to Chloe before being interrupted, and the teen was looking at the pair of them like both had gone insane and she didn't understand how she'd missed it.
Natasha's fist connected with the same point on his arm again. "She's practically glowing as she runs off to throw up! How many weeks is she?"
The grin turned into a proud one, the same smile he often had when thinking of his family. "Seven… We weren't going to tell you guys until later - you have a bad habit of ruining surprises, you know that?" He asked teasingly.
"Wait, Laura's pregnant?" Chloe piped up, looking stunned and suddenly pale.
"See, even Chloe is insulted she wasn't informed," Natasha joked, then looked a little concernedly at her daughter again. "Are you alright, Chlo?"
Chloe jumped, as though taken by surprise by the question, and quickly waved off her mother's concerns with a hasty grin. "I'm fine, I'm fine! Just… wow! A new Avengers baby!"
Natasha turned back to Clint, keeping Chloe's behaviour on her mind for later, and hugged him. "Congratulations - let me know if you need anything."
Clint laughed. "Could you be a live-in nanny?" He joked.
She pretended to think it over. "Sure, I'll check with Steve later," she replied with a laugh, before something caught her sight. "I have a feeling this party will be coming to a swift end in a minute."
Clint followed her eyes to the sight of a very whiny and tired Howie, who was refusing to have any more of the party. They could practically see Pepper's thought process as she watched Tony carrying their one-year-old son from the room. The second the elevator doors closed, the music stopped and Pepper was politely informing the guests that the party was over a little early, one by one.
With a sigh, Clint gave Natasha one last hug, fist-bumping a distracted Chloe. "Well, I'd better go round up the monkeys and get Laura home so she can sleep."
"She'll need it," Natasha said before looking around for Selina and Steve. "Chloe," she said, pulling the teen out of her daze. "Why don't you go and say goodbye to Peter - we're leaving in a minute."
"Oh - uh - no, it's okay, let's just go," Chloe said quickly, already heading for the door.
Natasha raised a brow. "I need to get your…" she stopped talking there, Chloe already out of earshot, but didn't need to finish the sentence anyway as Steve was already walking towards her with Selina - the latter saying goodbye to everybody they passed.
Natasha was the one who carried Selina from the car into the house and laid her down. She covered the small child with her rainbow blanket before walking from the room.
"You look concerned," Steve muttered from beside her as she looked towards Chloe's closed door.
"Has Chloe been off lately?" She asked quietly.
Steve pursed his lips slightly in thought. "In what way?"
Natasha looked towards the door again and shrugged. "Maybe it's because we haven't been around her as much as before. She's just changing, becoming an adult. Holding the weight of the world on her shoulders."
"I know what that feels like," Steve replied, placing a hand on her back. "We can always sit down and talk to her tomorrow," he suggested.
"Let's wait until after the wedding; she'll have finished her internship by then and everything will be settled for the run up back to school. We can talk to her a few times in those two weeks," Natasha decided - there was no point rushing a conversation; she trusted Chloe and hoped that she'd come to either of them if there was anything bothering her.
Steve nodded in agreement before they made their way into the bedroom, waiting enough time for the children to have fallen asleep before making use of the time together they had before either of them was called away.
Thank you for reading, once again!
I hope you all have an amazing weekend :)