A/N: Hey! *wave* So here's this chapter, much easier than the last, thank God.

Thank you to Stephanie0304, SwordsDeath, Tsukiko K, slacker, karina001, Relena Duo, allenfan, Allen Stander, Ryuakilover, thebizarrehairtrio, XavierForest, MidnightPhantomFire, bookishangel, LuckyKittens, Katherine Sanderson, jy24, P, Dragon Silhouette, leafpool5, InsanityOwl, Cheese Wizzard, Jaggedwing, BloodyHeart12050, Lev-Seth, Resident of Wonderland, alexc123, mythamagica, Shadow-X1999, Nightgray, catzrool, Shadow Spear, Z. R. Stein, newby6320, Amelia Loves Anime, KShieru, and 3 guests for reviewing!

Title: Cosmic Composite

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: Tony/Pepper, Natasha/Steve, Miranda/Marie

Genre: Family/Adventure

Warnings: AU, !spoilers for Winter Soldier onward, spoilers for Agents of SHIELD!

Summary: With the entry of metahumans into the public sphere, the fight for basic human rights has begun, and there's more than one interested party. This is the world that the exorcists are reborn into, as the newest members of the Marvel Universe and the next generation. And things are about to get much more complicated. (Eventual canon divergence. Also includes Agents of SHIELD.)

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.


Lavi: 5 years old

Kanda: 5 years old

Lenalee: 4 years old

Allen: 3 years old


April 2016


Natasha had very little idea what Cross had said to Allen, but she had never heard him yell like that before. She hadn't been able to make out the words, unfortunately, but he'd sounded angry. Unusual, from Allen. More than unusual. Unheard of.

But after Allen emerged, and the boys went back to playing, she watched them like a hawk, looking for anything different – anything at all.

There was nothing, except perhaps Allen was in a better mood than he had been before the talk, which was… strange. Given the yelling.

She'd need to get that tape from Stark. Soon. Today.

Pepper was beside her, Natasha taking a place between the other woman and Cross, and Natasha noticed her keeping an eye out, too, with some of her attention on Cross as well. Her tablet was on her lap, but she wasn't using it. She was too tense to focus, Natasha guessed.

Cross' gaze was intent; though he hid it well, he was searching for signs of improvement just as closely as Natasha was.

Link had shown up while Allen was with Cross, and he was attempting to keep the other three from getting too rowdy, which was amusing but ultimately futile. Lavi was fleeing from Yuu – Natasha thought he'd pulled the other boy's ponytail – and leading him in circles around the coffee table, laughing. Link was protesting, and Allen was giggling softly, close to Link and smiling.

"I'll tie you up by your shoelaces!" Yuu yelled at Lavi, snatching at him angrily. Lavi ducked, grinning.

"C'mon, Yuu, don't be like that!" Lavi teased. "Can't you take a li'l tug? Yuu?"

"Yuu can' take anyting tha' huwts his pwide," Allen explained cheerfully.

Link groaned and covered his face. "Don't encourage them!" he complained. Pepper hid a smile behind her hand, and Cross snickered, clearly appreciative.

Yuu turned on Allen instantly, scowling. "Can too!"

Allen, as usual, was all too happy to take up the challenge. "You can' even lose a spaw nicely!"

"I don't lose spars!" Yuu objected. "Unlike a certain idiot sprout I know!"

"You lose spaws lots!" Allen argued.

Yuu stormed over to Allen, scowling darkly down at him, close enough that Allen had to crane his head to look him in the eye. "Who'd lose a spar to you, tiny sprout?"

Natasha could see the moment when Allen half-flinched, and beside her, Cross tensed. Then Allen glanced over at her, and a spark appeared in his eyes. The corner of his mouth turned up, and he refocused on Yuu.

Then, before Yuu could react, he reached up, grabbed onto his shirt, and pulled hard.

Yuu yelped, not expecting it, and flailed his arms as he tipped forward. Allen stepped aside, and Yuu grunted as he hit the ground hard, and then again, when Allen plopped onto his back and leaned over to say teasingly,

"Who's a tiny spwout?"

Cross blew out his breath in a soft, pleased, "Hahh," and relaxed beside her, leaning back in his seat, radiating smugness. Pepper covered her mouth, eyes wide and startled, and Natasha wasn't sure she could've moved if she'd wanted to, eyes on Allen, whose expression was bright and mischievous – and still a little uncertain, too, even if it was no longer the prevailing emotion.

Link was frozen, too, eyes wide with surprise, hands slowly falling from where they'd been covering his face, and Lavi, on the other side of the table still, stared unabashedly, and then let a grin spread across his face, gradual and honest. And then Lavi started to laugh.

Yuu twisted his head around, eyes just as wide, to look at Allen the best he could. And for just a moment, Natasha could see an expression of surprise and delight flicker across his face, bright and unfettered. Then it was replaced by a playful snarl, and Yuu easily threw Allen off and rolled over to return the favor. The next thing Natasha knew, the two of them were wrestling.

Three months ago, even if it had happened, Natasha would have been certain of how it would go. Yuu was far bigger than Allen, far stronger, and even if he was fundamentally opposed to harming Allen, he was rough by nature. It would have been a massacre rendered in child's play.

Allen, as it turned out, fought dirty. Natasha thought she knew, now, why Cross had been so unsettled earlier. A few of those pinches were going to give Yuu bruises, and Allen was slippery as an eel, too, so Yuu couldn't keep a hold on him to save his life. The older boy's face was flushed with frustration even as Allen's was alight with merriment. Lavi had flopped onto the ground, still laughing, and Link had plopped on his butt, still staring, mouth slightly open.

Natasha was smiling, bright and broad, one step from laughter. She couldn't help it.

This wasn't Allen as he had been. She wasn't that naïve.

But it was the brightest, the most confident, the most comfortable she'd seen him yet, and it filled her with a joy she didn't think could be described with words.

Cross was laughing, clearly delighted by his apprentice's antics, supporting himself with an arm across his knees. That left it to Pepper to finally gather herself, shake her head at both of them, eyes light with her own amusement, and rise, crossing the room to break them up.

Natasha was almost sorry that she'd done so when Steve appeared, stepping through the door and sending a questioning glance her way, one hand on the doorframe. Still smiling, Natasha gestured for him to stay quiet and then indicated Allen, who was currently occupied with making faces behind Pepper's back as the woman scolded Yuu quietly, only to make an innocent one when Pepper glanced back to see why Yuu was so obviously distracted.

When she looked back at Steve, her eyes light and her smile genuine, she found him smiling at her confusedly, clearly catching that something had happened, but having no idea what that may have been.

Natasha let her smile soften and shook her head subtly.

She'd tell him later.


"This is unfair," Link complained, and did nothing about it.

Allen, on one side of the older boy, grinned at him. Lenalee, on the other, smiled cheekily.

"That's the point," Lenalee explained cheerfully. "Anyway, you're lots bigger than us. That's unfair."

Allen made a soft noise of agreement, and Link shot him an exasperated look, but couldn't conceal the amused look in his eyes. Link swiped at him halfheartedly with the purple foam noodle he was wielding, and Allen ducked easily while Lenalee, with a blue noodle of her own, took his distraction as the opening it was and hit Link's leg hard enough to get a hollow thudding noise out of the noodle. Link growled playfully and struck the other way, and Allen, laughing, hit Link on the side.

They were in the playroom now, with Melinda and Steve sitting together off to the side and pretending to read. Steve, at least, spent most of the time watching them thoughtfully, book open in his lap, while Melinda, a few feet away from him, glanced up every so often – interested, but not significantly more so than usual.

Allen was still riding the high from his conversation with Cross – at least partially from the thought that Cross was sure that Allen could do this, and Cross had never been wrong before – and it raised his spirits and made him daring.

Allen glanced at Lenalee, who looked back quizzically, tilting her head. Allen looked up at Link, and then at the ground, and smiled, and after a moment, Lenalee let out a giggle and nodded. Link looked wary.

At the same time, both Allen and Lenalee dropped their 'weapons', and Link barely had the time to widen his eyes before they launched themselves at him, and Link went down flailing, the weight of two children dragging him down unceremoniously.

Allen thought he heard a quiet chuckle from Melinda's direction, and there was no hiding Steve's bright, amused grin, but his attention was on Link. Soon the older boy was flat on the ground, and Allen and Lenalee both moved to place their only mostly insignificant weights on top of him.

"Why?" Link asked plaintively. Allen gave him a cheeky smile, and Link could only hold his gaze for a moment before the blond closed his eyes and thunked his head against the floor in defeat.

Lenalee, beside Allen, giggled, and Allen felt her hand cover his and looked up at her in question. Lenalee was smiling down at him softly.

"You're feeling better," she commented softly.

Allen blinked, and then smiled and nodded.

"Mastew had a few tings t'say," he explained matter-of-factly.

"Your relationship with Cross is never not going to be weird," Link muttered candidly, and then squirmed. "Get off me, please!"

Both of them were sent tumbling off, laughing, and he sat up with a huff.

Steve was laughing, and Allen couldn't stop smiling.


"Cut the video," Tony heard himself say, staring, still a little stunned, at the image of Cross Talbot halfheartedly struggling to push Allen off him.

Obediently, FRIDAY dismissed the image, but prudently remained quiet as the two males in the room processed what they'd just seen.

"Oh," Lavi, kneeling on a chair beside Tony, said at last, voice soft.

'Oh', Tony felt, did not quite cover it.

Natasha had come to him, earlier that day, to explain, in very brief terms, what had happened, and then request a copy of the recording. Curious, Tony had decided to watch it himself, and Lavi, present at the time, had wanted to as well.

Tony hadn't expected it to be quite that intensely personal.

Beside him, Lavi was mouthing words Tony couldn't quite catch, his green eyes wide and worried. Tony himself was replaying a few of the more unsettling parts in his mind, but the thing he finally asked about was-

"Who's Cosimo?"

Lavi fell out of his trance and glanced up at Tony, only to shrug. "Don't know," he admitted.

Tony was more surprised than he maybe should've been. "You don't know?" he repeated.

"He's probably someone from Allen's childhood," Lavi theorized thoughtfully. "Cross is the only one who'd know about him, then. Allen doesn't like to talk about it."

Tony stared at Lavi. "Are you saying no one but Cross knows anything about Allen's childhood?" he asked.

"Yup," Lavi agreed, distracted enough to look amused (at Tony's expense, probably) and a little resigned. "He used to work for a circus. That's all I know."

Tony stared a little more, and then grinned. "I'm going to take that as a challenge," he told Lavi.

Lavi grinned back. "Good luck!" he replied, almost rabidly cheerful.

Tony held the grin for a few moments, and then it faded, thoughtful again.

"How much are things going to change around here?" he asked at last.

Lavi's grin widened, eyes brightening with genuine glee.

"It's gonna be great," he said, which didn't answer Tony's question at all.

He found that he didn't mind much, and he was looking forward to it regardless.


Natasha watched the security feed three times before she felt prepared to deal with it.

When she did, she went to track down Cross, and found him, after a while, in the empty kitchen, a plate of leftover pasta in front of him.

"You made him cry," she commented mildly, standing across from him, pretending to be relaxed.

"Everything makes him cry," Cross replied instantly. "His own shadow makes him cry sometimes."

"You made him yell," she continued, thoughtful now.

"That's a special talent," Cross told her.

"And that helped him?" A question this time.

"He's a weird kid."

Natasha nodded to herself, and then sat down, opposite Cross. Cross sighed, but pushed his food away to give her a long-suffering look, which Natasha ignored.

"Was your goal to make him angry?"

Cross sighed again, but at her visibly testy look, grimaced and straightened a little. "Yeah. He's a much angrier kid than he lets on-" And the tilt of his head, at that, made Natasha's mind go straight to the masks she knew Allen held. "-he just uses it in unusual ways. Like I said, he's a weird kid."

"Could I have done that if I knew what to say?" she asked, not bothering to pretend this was anything other than an interrogation. Cross knew it, too, from the way he was studying her back. She was a little surprised he was going along with it.

He shook his head. "I piss him off just by existing, but he actually cares what you think. You try saying any of that to him, you'll send him into a breakdown."

That was more of less what she'd expected. "Does that have anything to do with your 'everything was for them' line?"

"Sure, let's go with that." Natasha raised an eyebrow at him. Cross snorted. "That's how the kid thinks he thinks, how's that?"

Good enough. "Is that why you changed tactics partway through?"

"Christ, lady, how many questions do you have?" Eyebrow. Cross rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Getting that kid to admit he wants to live is like pulling teeth – which is your problem now, have fun with that."

"Is that why you're being so forthcoming?"

"Don't get used to it," Cross scowled.

Natasha almost smiled and took that as a yes.

"Asking you to look after Allen without any information would be like throwing you unarmed into a lion den," Cross added. "Actually, the lion den would probably be easier to manage. Believe it or not, I don't want this to crash and burn."

"You don't act like it," Natasha commented, voice a little cooler.

Cross scowled. "Let me do my thing. The brat has a terrible history with male guardians."

That was ominous. And now that she thought of it, no one had yet mentioned Marlisa to Cross. Judging from his behavior thus far, that could be very ugly indeed. She almost looked forward to it.

Moving on to his request, she mulled it over for a moment. On the one hand, assuming that Steve would be anything less than a devoted father was absurd. On the other hand, Cross' cooperation was worthsomething, and she suspected his trust would be too, hard-earned or not. She could watch over things to make sure they didn't get out of hand.

"I'll be watching you," she said, and watched Cross grimace again. "I trust Steve."

Cross inclined his head slightly toward her in acknowledgement, but didn't look inclined to compromise. That was fair. She wouldn't have, either. It was almost gratifying, she admitted to herself, that Cross was this invested in Allen's safety, and she suspected that he could be more than helpful if he wanted to.

It didn't mean that she'd let up on her own efforts, but it drastically reduced the chances of doing anything too horribly wrong.

One last thing.

"Cosimo?" she asked, clipped and quiet.

Cross grimaced. "Can't leave the past in the past, can you?" he muttered mulishly, which she took to be a spectacularly bad signal.

"Well, it was one hell of a berserker button," she replied neutrally. "There must be a story."

"It's not a place I'd've gone under normal circumstances," Cross returned, a clearer deflection than she suspected he was capable of. "The brat hates that man like poison."

"Why?" Perhaps this wasn't necessary information, but she felt like she needed to know, anyway.

Cross eyed her, apparently decided she really did want to know, scowled, and said, "Allen worked for a circus when he was a kid. Cosimo was a clown there, put himself in charge of Allen's discipline." Cross' scowl deepened. "I don't know what all he did, but my stupid apprentice was way too familiar with the feel of a broken bone when he passed to me, and he had a very interesting set of scars on his back."

Natasha didn't need him to get any more explicit than that; there were already images, far too vivid, forming in her mind. She bit her cheek and tasted blood, and stared Cross in the eye as the man's expression darkened just at the thought.

"Perhaps it's for the best that he's long dead," Natasha said calmly.

"Yeah, maybe," Cross agreed.

"Thank you," Natasha added, "for your cooperation."

She pushed back from the table, stood up, and went to leave, and behind her, heard Cross growl softly to himself and pull the plate back, tapping it loudly and discontently with his fork.

She needed to talk to Steve. By now, he would have seen the feed, too.

His reaction, she was sure, would be at least as conflicted as hers had been, and for once, she didn't think he'd know how to deal with it.

Envy was not a sin one could normally accuse Steve Rogers of possessing.


After she finished relaying Cross' information to Steve, he sat on the bed for a while, head in his hands. She waited patiently, letting him have this moment to struggle with himself.

Finally, Steve blew out a breath and sat up to look at her, letting her see the whirling confusion and worry and frustration. "I wasn't prepared for this," he said at last, almost plaintive.

Natasha let her expression soften, knowing that Steve wasn't just referring to the things they'd learned tonight. "I know," she agreed. "Neither of us were. But how is that any different from normal? We weren't prepared for aliens, either."

Steve sighed, crossed his legs, and visibly forced himself to focus. "Allen's going to be different now."

Natasha almost wished she were surprised. Steve's flaws were not particularly obvious – certainly not as much so as, say, Tony's – but a chronic inability to acknowledge his own struggles, internal or external, was high on the list.

Pride.

"He will," Natasha agreed. "But if today was any indication, I think it'll be a good thing."

Steve managed a weak smile. "He's a little trickster," he commented, almost wistfully. "I wasn't expecting that."

"I think it goes further than that," Natasha judged, letting herself smile in response. "But we'll see, I suppose."

Steve nodded. "What are we going to do?"

"We're going to watch," Natasha replied, crossing her legs as well. "And if a problem comes up, we'll take care of it. We're going to take care of him, Steve, just like we decided to do a year ago."

Steve laughed and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm being ridiculous again, aren't I?"

"Just a little," Natasha confirmed, her smile curving into something lighter and more genuine. "The most important thing is, he's still Allen."

Steve's smile held for a few moments longer, and then it faded, and his brow furrowed unhappily. She quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly, and he sighed.

"We don't know much about him," he said quietly, clearly unsettled.

"No," Natasha admitted, sighing. "We'll learn."

"Nat, something was wrong with Allen, and we didn't even really know." Steve was looking more distressed by the moment. "We needed someone else to step in. And he made it look so damn easy."

Natasha didn't think it had been easy at all, actually. Not from the tired look on Cross' face.

"We were never going to be able to do this on our own," was what she said instead. It's okay to need help, she didn't say.

"But from him?" Steve asked plaintively.

Natasha shrugged. "At the moment, Cross knows Allen best."

"Yeah," Steve murmured.

And he didn't sound happy about it at all.


*smile* Unlike last time, I'm pretty pleased with this chapter, even if not a whole lot happened. Thanks for reading, and please review!