I think my muses might have taken my improvised advent calendar idea as a challenge... and they didn't like being doubted! Feel free to take as long as you like to catch up, of course.
Not Marvel.
TapTap
Life in the Tower went on much like usual, though several inhabitants missed Claire Thomas when she was gone. Wayne had taken her with him to Europe, as she had never gone before, and she returned to rumours which sounded like deja vu, but made her decidedly confused this time.
She had barely managed to get inside the door to the communal floor of the Tower, her suitcase delivered ahead of her arrival, when she was caught in several such bear hugs that the automatic quip about needing oxygen was only partly a joke.
Bucky, Clint and Steve cleared off at her protest, making way for Bruce, who hugged her more gently, but for a long while. "We missed you," he told her softly, smiling. "Maybe Hulk most of all."
"I missed you guys too, though all the impressions were a little overwhelming. Still, six weeks felt like a good amount of time. What's happened around here? The rumour mill has gone crazy again, I think they've outdone themselves this time!"
"Actually not." Bucky shook his head, then made a dramatic, teatralic gesture of upset, visibly struggling to keep a straight face. "I feel very betrayed!" Claire stared at him.
"Not this again," Steve looked tempted to abandon his usual measured way of acting and outright roll his eyes at his boyfriend.
"Yes, this again. It's hilarious!" Clint winked at Claire. "Laura sends her love."
They were interrupted by Pepper entering, no doubt to query Claire about Wayne's whereabouts and availability for business dealings. She had no time to express this, however, as Claire squeaked in surprise at the sight of her. It was still subtle, but to her who had seen it before, it was obvious the CEO was pregnant.
Pepper laughed, clearly correctly interpreting the engineer's facial expression. "I would've said something, but I didn't dare before you went, just in case something went wrong! I'm still only barely in the fourth month. It seems odd to me - last time I didn't even know it at this point!"
"That's... alright." Claire sighed and went to sink down into a sofa, abruptly feeling overwhelmed. "I know that you had such thoughts and plans, after all."
"I still consider it a betrayal," Bucky insisted, laughter clear in his voice, making Clint put them all out of their misery and smack him in the back of the head.
"Thanks, man," Rhodey rolled his eyes and dropped into another sofa. "Hi Claire, welcome home! I just came from his workshop - Tony knows you're home. Told me to tell you he'll be up in a minute."
"That's okay, I need to shower anyway. Maybe by the time I'm done he'll have actually remembered to leave!"
"You know him well," Tony's eldest friend allowed. "Then again you collect billionaires, so maybe I should expect no less." There was no accusation or concern in his tone, only humor.
Claire snorted and mock-glared. "I collect geniuses, thank you very much! Also superheroes."
"Well, some people collect pets, at least we don't pee on the carpet," was Clint's somewhat erratic but at the same time logical contribution to the conversation. Steve sighed, looking suddenly tired. Claire sent him a sympathetic look.
"Maybe, one day, you'll collect babies." Natasha looked over at her in that piercing, analytic way that felt like she was reading minds - or seeing right through you.
"One day, yes. I want at least seven. But you know - all in the fullness of time." Claire didn't let the look rattle her too much, but then again, she had rather a lot of practise with odd situations these days.
"Well, practising on this bunch seems only fair," Bruce's voice was soft and warm, despite the words. "They're kids. I'm about to start cooking, but you have time to get settled back in."
Claire inquired if he needed any help, was shooed, and stepped into an elevator; Steve and Bucky taking her luggage and allowing absolutely no discussion about the fact, not that she didn't see that coming. It felt good to be home.
