Steve stares down at his eggs in wonder. This morning he noticed he could hear tiny chirps coming from them. It was soft, quiet, barely noticeable. But he heard it.
He runs his fingers over the eggs gently, caressing them.
There wasn't long now before they will hatch, maybe a little over a week. He'll look after them until he can find them all a good home.
He'll miss them.
Taking care of them each morning has quickly become the highlight of his days.
Tony sighs, dropping himself in one of the chairs in his lab.
Steve had come down to visit him today. He always loved it when he visited. But the man was anxious, distracted.
He was so used to receiving Steve's full attention. Today had felt like the sun had retreated behind the clouds. The space felt a little colder and grey without Steve's usually friendly and warm demeanour lighting it up.
Maybe Jan was right. Something was going on with Steve.
A week later he wakes in the middle of the night to the sound of very faint cracking. The chirping that he'd grown used to over the week is now much, much louder.
Steve bolts out of bed, quickly rushing over to the closet.
The eggs were hatching.
He sits himself down on the floor carefully, eyes never leaving the eggs, his heart beating wildly in his chest.
Two of the eleven chicks had already broken free of their eggs and were squirming about.
Steve reaches out to one of the eggs, gazing with wonder at the little beak sticking out of the shell. He carefully helps them out, he knows it's not necessary and he should let them do it themselves… but the edges of the shells seem so sharp and he doesn't want them to get hurt.
Slowly over the course of an hour, the chicks break free of the eggs. Spending the first moments of their new world tumbling around their bedding, making as much noise as their tiny lungs could handle. Which, apparently, was quite a lot.
One of them, small, darker markings than the rest, drags parts of its egg behind it, still attached to it by its umbilical cord. Every now and again, the cord tripping it up.
Steve scoops the chick into his hands and inspects the cord. It shouldn't be too hard to cut, it was small and thin. And he doesn't think helping the chick would hurt it. All the other's managed to cut their own cords, so it should be fine.
He cuts the cord with the nails of his thumb and index finger, pinching it tight till it separates. The little chick doesn't so any indication that it even noticed.
Steve sets the chick back in the incubator, his heart beating wildly in his throat. He watches them with awe, tears coming to his eyes, shocking him.
He can't let them go, he realises.
They are his babies. His.
No one noticed them this far… maybe… maybe no one ever will. He knows he can't keep them in his closet their whole life.
But he will find something.
He will work it out.
TBC