"You quit." Clint looks up, his step mom is staring at him with a surprised look on her face, a crumpled up carton of cigarettes in her hand.
He's a bit snippy, "I'm trying."
She smiles, ignoring the annoyance in his voice. "Clint! I'm so proud of you! You let me know if there's anything I can do to help. Do you need the nicotine patch? Or anything?"
It's a ridiculous situation, but he's decided on cold turkey. Get it over faster. "No, thanks though."
She steps forward, almost like she's going to come over and hug him, but she thinks better of it and just nods, "okay, anything you need, you let me know."
She's about to turn and leave. "Hey, Melissa?" She turns back and looks at him, "thanks. You're— just… yeah, uh, thanks."
She smiles, her eyes crinkling at the edges and he wonders for the 1,000th time how his jerk of a dad ended up with a real nice lady.
"Anytime, Clint."
—
Natasha's talking to Clint on the stairs right outside the school when she sees them.
"Oh. My—" She hops off the stone railing, taking two steps at a time. She plants herself in front of them and squeals, "You have GLASSES!" She watches as Steve smiles, and then his eyes widen at her.
"Your hair is so red." She watches as his hand reaches out and touches a few strands. He goes pink as he realizes what he's doing, "sorry. Still getting used to all the new colors." Bucky, standing besides him, laughs.
She beams at him and scrunches her nose, "they look really good on you. Fits you."
She feels Clint come stand behind her.
"Steve, you can see now!"
Steve scoffs, rolling his eyes, but the smile doesn't leave his face. "Where's Tony?"
"Not here, late as usual."
They walk inside and head to their separate classes.
—
"Those are some real nice glasses you got there, oh, Stevie boy."
He doesn't respond, ignoring Rumlow as he walks into the boy's bathroom in between classes.
He internally cringes when he hears the door open and Rumlow follows behind him. Steve decides that maybe he doesn't need to use the bathroom after all, so he turns to leave instead. Only to be blocked by Rumlow.
"Where you going? Don't you need to tinkle?"
"Let me out, Rumlow."
"Big tough words for an artsy boy with glasses."
Steve doesn't respond, just glares at him.
"Am I supposed to be scared?"
"What is your deal!" Steve snaps, "What do you want?"
Quick as a flash, Rumlow's face morphs to murderous and he shoves Steve hard. His back hits the stall door and he slides to the ground. But Rumlow hauls him up and shoves him back into the stall, pushing him down against the seat and his back against the metal fixtures. Steve can't help the sound of pain that escapes his mouth as the hard metal cracks against his spine.
"You're dead meat, you know that? You and your little pals ain't worth shit and look how easy it was to get you alone." Rumlow's hand is fisted in Steve's collar, shoving him back painfully.
"I'm not afraid of you." Steve hisses out.
Rumlow smiles. A smile that actually does send a bit of terror up Steve's spine.
"You should be."
"What are you gunna do? Beat me to a pulp?" Steve snaps, "fine, then do it! Stop making threats and do it!" Rumlow looks almost impressed at Steve's outburst but he just shoves him back harder against the pipes and laughs.
"You think I'm stupid? You won't even see me coming. And there won't be a damn thing anyone can do about it either." Steve opens his mouth to respond when Rumlow punches him in the gut, crushing the air out of him and sending him doubling over, wheezing. "You say one word about this to anyone? Maybe those little kids in that rathole you live in would like to meet me, huh?"
The pain from the punch is nothing compared to the absolute mind-numbing knowledge that Rumlow knows where he lives. That Rumlow could hurt his family.
Steve lifts his head, "How?"
Rumlow chuckles, "like I said. You'll never see me coming." He steps back, straightens his jacket, and is gone before Steve can take a full breath.
—
Bucky walks to Steve's 2nd classroom to walk with him to the cafeteria. He'd gotten into the habit after the baseball game, and after the pizza incident he had been even more adamant about it.
Steve is standing at the sink, washing brushes like he usually does. Except there's a look on his face. Eyes unfocused and hands swirling the brushes clean in a repetitive motion.
"Steve?"
No response.
"Steve?" Big blue eyes, magnified behind the lenses, find him and return to focus.
"Oh, hey Buck." He looks down, "I'm almost done."
"Okay, no rush."
He watches Steve methodically clean, and set to dry, his brushes, and organize the rest of his supplies at his station. They're walking to the cafeteria and Steve hasn't said a word.
"So how are you liking the glasses?"
"I can't believe this is what the world looks like. I've been missing out."
"Yeah you have, you have lots to catch up on."
Steve nods and falls silent again.
"You okay?"
"Hmm?"
"Is everything okay?"
"Oh. Yeah. Everything's fine."
Steve pushes through the double doors into the cafeteria and Bucky watches as Steve sits in his usual chair, eyes unfocused and hands clasped in his lap.
He looks at Clint, then does a double take, "Dude, you okay?" He can see the sheen of sweat on Clint's skin and the green tint to his face.
Clint looks up at him, and nods, keeping his mouth tightly closed. Bucky watches as Natasha pushes a water bottle at Clint. Threatening him with it. He nods minutely and takes a small sip. Oohhkay, he thinks, what's going on..
Tony waltzes in and sits down with a huff. He glances at Steve who hasn't noticed he's arrived.
"Hey, looking good." Tony quips. Steve glances up, sees Tony and smiles.
"Hey, wait, uh, I got something for you." Steve reaches into his backpack and pulls out a piece of paper folded in half. Bucky peers over and sees a sketch, obviously drawn by Steve, of four kids. Bucky recognizes Steve, Peter, and there's two others, a boy and a girl. Tony studies it and opens the homemade card to find four messages.
Thanks for the glasses, I will do so much better in school now. - Teresa
I just wanted to say thanks so much for the glasses, they will really come in handy. — Daniel
Mr. Tony, Steve said the glasses are from you. Thank you for them and the muffins. —Peter
Tony,
Thank you so much for the glasses and for the modifications for them and the hearing aid. I don't know how I can ever repay you, but I just wanted to make sure I said thank you.
—Steve
Tony looks up to see Steve holding out his hand. Tony takes it and Steve shakes it firmly. "Really Tony, thank you. You have no idea."
For the first time he can remember, Bucky watches as Tony Stark is speechless.
—
The next five days pass quickly.
Tony listens to Steve's afternoon and evenings, cataloguing evidence and storing it. They'd agreed to build a whole airtight case against the Schmidts. Their medical records, her spending, and her treatment of the kids. He plans to submit the evidence as soon as he gets word from Bucky's dad that the guy they hoped to replace the Schmidt's says yes.
—-
"We need to make sure during the presentation that we speak equally. We've all participated and have our parts, but I don't want even an ounce of question from Rumlow." Tony says, head bent over something. It's Friday afternoon and they're in the lab. Mr. Stark had just left.
Clint, who Bucky notices has been eating a lot lately, speaks with a full mouth, "that bastard has been unusually quiet this past week and I don't like it."
"Yeah, he just smiles at me like he knows something we don't." Natasha scowls. "He's planning something."
Bucky looks to Steve, who sits quietly, his finger tracing the blueprints in front of him.
"He's planning to beat us on presentation day." Tony says, eyes behind goggles as he tangles with wires, "but he's got another thing coming."
His confidence flows through the room and the tension abates some.
—-
Bucky walks through his front door after walking home with Steve. He notices his dad on the phone and he looks on with questioning eyes. His dad holds up a finger to say wait.
He races upstairs, drops his bag off and flies back down.
"I can't believe it either. Yeah, you can't imagine how grateful we are. You're the best. Yes, it was James who suggested you. He remembered—- yeah, yep, he's 16 now, can you believe it? We can't either. I'll let him know the good news and we'll get this thing moving. Thanks, Sam. Uh huh, yeah, goodbye."
"Mr. Wilson said yes?" Bucky asks as his dad hangs up the phone.
His dad beams, "he called to say that he and his sister have been wanting to help out in the community lately ever since he got back stateside, just over a year ago. He was about to take a permanent position down at the VA when he was given our message. He did a bunch of research and said that he would be honored to take on the job."
Bucky punches the air in joy and his dad laughs. "I knew he would! He's the best."
His dad nods, "yeah, when I served with him, he was one of the best. He'll do great with the kids. He said his sister wants to help with the house too, they'll make sure they're all taken care of."
Bucky sits heavily on the couch, pulling out his phone. "I gotta tell the others."
His dad sits next to him. "I don't know much about the politics of government housing for kids, you sure your friend knows what he's doing?"
Bucky looks up at his dad, and something he's known all along, ever since that first day when they really realized what Steve was living through, settles in his chest. "We'd do anything. And Tony's dad? He's got the best lawyers in the world. He's taken a liking to Steve and I know none of us will rest until that witch is behind bars."
His dad sits there stunned and then chuckles in disbelief. "My son, mentioning Howard Stark as if it was no big deal." Bucky laughs too, but then his dad goes somber. "What is it about this kid that inspires such action? I mean, I understand that he's in rough living conditions and I'm glad you guys want to help… but why this kid? Is it just because you happened to be in the same group?"
Bucky looks at his dad and just shakes his head slowly back and forth before looking out the window in the front door at the building Steve lives in. "Steve wants to do what's right. He takes care of so many even though no one is taking care of him. He'll stand up for anyone, do what's right no matter what. He brings out the best in us." Then he looks his dad in the eyes and says softly, "he is the best of us."
His dad looks at him softly, and rests a hand on his shoulder. "Sounds like someone else I know." Bucky opens his mouth to protest but his dad gives him the look. "Sounds like you've got a whole group of world changers. I'm proud of you."
His dad beams at him and he smiles back..
—
B: My dad's old war buddy said yes. He's a counselor now, and he's worked with veterans and their kids before, so I think he'll do great. His sister is also going to help and she has kids and she's super nice.
C: YES. LET'S GOOOOO
N: That's amazing news! Tony, how soon can we do this?
T: I'm submitting the evidence to my dad's lawyer right now, I don't know how long it will take. But with the amount of physical violence I've heard, it can't be too long. Safety is a major issue. It needs to happen without her knowing they're coming. What's the guy's name?
B: Samuel Wilson. Super decorated Air Force Pilot.
T: Got it, I'll make sure my dad's lawyers know.
B: Okay, let us know a timeline. That way I can tell my dad when to let Mr. Wilson know to come.
T: Soon. It's gunna be soon.
B: Good.
T: We still meeting Sunday morning?
C: I'll be there
N: Same
B: I'll be there, I'll bring Steve.
T: See you then.
—
Natasha lays on her bed, looking at her phone.
The text messages about Steve finally getting to live in a safe environment make her smile.
She looks over at Yelena who is painting her nails, headphones in, bopping to music Natasha can't hear.
She looks at the door and thinks about earlier that day when their mother had informed Yelena and her that they would be in charge of more chores around the house to make sure they 'earned their keep around here'. Chores that included scrubbing the kitchen grout, baseboards, and air vents with toothbrushes. And that they wouldn't be getting dinner until those chores were done each day.
Yelena glances up at her and smiles and Natasha smiles back, an idea in mind.
—
Steve and Bucky walk up to Tony's front door only to be told to go around the back. They walk, confused expressions on their faces, until they're met by Mr. Jarvis who directs them into a car.
They slide in and are greeted by the other three.
"Hey." Steve says, "what's going on?"
Tony smiles, "the finished device is being fabricated as we speak. Until it's done there isn't anything we can work on that can't be done this week."
Bucky looks at him, "okay… and we're in your car because…?"
"I promised that we would go to Coney Island during this program, and I don't like to break promises."
The four of them gape at him and his mouth pulls up into a mischievous grin. "Jarvis! Let's go, please!"
"Of course, sir."
The car pulls away and they start talking excitedly about what they're going to do when they get there.
—
Natasha and Tony scowl as Bucky and Clint vie for best shot of the group, they'd been eliminated after the first couple rounds. Steve watches the competition at the shooting booth with interest as they knock down plastic ducks.
Finally Clint takes the lead, winning the stuffed animal, and he and Bucky trade fake punches as they dash down the boardwalk.
"Idiots." Natasha says with a fond smile on her face.
They eat hotdogs, ride rides, play the games at the booths and terrorize each other with balloon swords until the last one pops.
"Okay." Bucky says, hands held out in front of him as if he's going to tell them a scary story, "it's time for the Cyclone!" The group cheers and they run to wait in the line.
Steve barely makes the height requirement and he goes red at the fact, but they don't make fun of him and once he's seated in the car he relaxes.
Until near the end.
"Uh. Bucky?" He shouts over the sound of the wind rushing past.
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to throw up."
"WHAT!"
Bucky looks over to see a positively green Steve clutching at his stomach.
"Hold on! The ride is almost over!"
Steve nods weakly, stumbling off the ride, and Bucky hauls him over to the nearest trash can where he proceeds to puke up everything he's eaten that day.
Tony, Natasha, and Clint watch in horror as Steve slides weakly to the ground, leaning against a park bench.
Clint dashes off, returning with a cup.
Steve looks at it warily. "What is it?"
"Ginger ale. Should help settle your stomach."
Steve takes a few sips, holding it in shaky hands. He looks up at them, shame written across his features, "sorry."
"No need to apologize." Clint says, hands stuffed into his pockets, "if that was your first roller coaster, we should have thought about maybe not stuffing ourselves with garbage beforehand."
Steve takes a few more sips and seems to settle.
"You okay?" Natasha asks.
"Yeah, I'm good."
Tony looks at his watch. "Let's get home."
They nod and head towards the parking lot.
—
Bucky walks Steve to their usual corner and pauses, setting a hand on Steve's shoulder. "You okay?"
Steve looks up at him, confused, "yeah, why do you ask?"
"You've just been… I don't know… Quieter than usual this week."
"Just have a lot on my mind."
"Anything I can help with?"
"No. No, uh, no— It's all good." The answer is quick and the flash of worry that crosses Steve's face gives Bucky the sense that everything is not good.
"You'd tell me if I could do anything to help, right?"
Steve nods, "yeah, yeah, there's nothing you can do. I'll see you at school tomorrow." He walks away and Bucky sighs, heading home.
—
Clint heaves over the toilet.
His step mom stands behind him anxiously, water bottle and wet towel in hand.
"What can I do?"
"Nothing." Clint says weakly, leaning against the bathtub. "This is my own fault."
His step-mom sits beside him, on the edge of the tub. "You know that's not really true. I mean sure, it was your choice to smoke, but… I don't think many people could blame you for the circumstances."
Clint can't think. He kneels over the toilet and heaves again, bile coming up this time. He wipes his mouth with the wet towel and sinks back down to the floor. "You know? When I looked up the expected withdrawal symptoms, this wasn't one of them."
Her eyebrows raise, "you looked up the withdrawal symptoms?"
"Hell yeah, I like to be prepared for stuff." She gives a soft laugh and ruffles his sweaty hair, "ew. You need a shower."
He laughs weakly, "I'll take one after I'm done vomiting up my guts."
"Hopefully soon."
He pauses, "actually yeah, my stomach feels better." He says in surprise. Then he wrinkles his nose in disgust.
"What?" She asks.
He huffs in disbelief, "would you believe me if I said I was actually feeling hungry?"
She scoffs and then laughs, "I'll have something ready that's easy on your stomach for when you're clean."
He looks up at her, "thanks, mom," he says softly, trying it out.
Her mouth parts in surprise and he doesn't miss the glistening that appears in her eyes. She cups his cheek with her hand and smiles softly back at him. "Anytime, Clint."
She leaves and he slowly takes off his sticky shirt, resting against the cool tub and leaning his head back. "This sucks." He says to the empty bathroom.
—
T: Tuesday. It's happening Tuesday.
B: You're kidding! This Tuesday?
T: Yep! The lawyers on my dad's payrolls are sharks. They were livid listening to the tapes. Major violations of government housing for kids. She's going away for a long time
N: Yes! That witch can rot in jail. What about her husband?
T: He's in the recordings less often, but I think if Steve or the kids will testify then they can get him too
C: You think Steve would do that?
B: To save other kids from being treated like that by him? To get justice for what he might have done to Peter or the others? For sure.
T: Oh yeah. He's going down too.
B: I'll tell my dad to tell Mr. Wilson. Can't wait for you guys to meet him.
N: I can't believe this is happening. I thought these types of things only happened in fairytales. You know, bad guys get what they deserve, Happily Ever After all that stuff
T: Money people. Money. Makes the world go round. Sad but true. Without money, this wouldn't be happening.
C: That's a really pessimistic way to look at it.
T: But it's true
B: I don't care how, I'm just glad it is. Thanks Tony
T: Thank my dad
B: Your dad didn't fabricate a hearing aid with a bug in it
T: … touché, but my dad knows all the right strings to pull so this doesn't end with them getting separated and placed into other possibly crappy foster homes.
N: Tuesday.
C: We're going to be there right? Support?
B: I am
T: Me and my dad, the lawyers, the police? The whole shebang.
B: Can't wait.
—
"What the hell is wrong with you guys?" Steve snaps at them.
They all whip their heads towards him as he stands, his sharp wrists resting on his hips as he glares at them.
"Did you just curse at us?" Clint asks, popping a sour gummy worm in his mouth.
Steve glares back, "you guys have been acting like psychos all day. What gives?"
It's Tuesday. That's what gives.
They're in study hall, ready to call it quits for the day. But Steve doesn't know that they're all heading home with him.
And when they follow him out, and he notices that it's not just Bucky he stops. "What's going on?"
"Steve?"
"Yes?"
"You remember how I said we had a plan?"
Steve looks at Bucky and his brow furrows, "yeah. And you refused to tell me about it?"
"Yeah, that one. Well. We figured it out."
Steve stares at him, "figured what out."
"The solution."
Steve's facial expression goes from confused to annoyed, "can someone speak in anything other than riddles?"
Tony's car pulls up and he opens the door, motioning for them to get in.
Steve crosses his arms, "I'm not going anywhere until someone tells me what's going on!"
"Steve." Tony says calmly. "Do you trust us?"
He glares at them, and Bucky's surprised to think for one second that Steve might actually say 'no'. But he just drops his arms and sighs, rolling his eyes towards Tony, which looks comical because of how large his thick lenses make his eyes.
"Yeah. I do."
"Then get in, kid. We've got somewhere to be."
—-
The flashing lights catch Steve's attention first. The car rolls to a stop and he sees the police cars out front.
Tony watches as sheer panic crosses Steve's face.
"What happened! What did you do!?" Steve's out the door and running before they can stop him.
"Geez." Clint whistles, "how's a kid so frail run so fast?"
It's the last thing said before they're bolting out of the car after him.
—-
Steve runs up the front door, his bag banging against his leg. But all he can think about is his siblings.
The last time the police were here, they'd left without doing anything and they'd somehow known it was Steve who had called CPS because of Peter's broken finger. Mr. Schmidt had broken his rib with a punch.
He bursts through to find the kids sitting on the staircase, eyes wide and frightened.
A police officer and a lady with a clipboard stand off to the side talking. They look at him when he enters.
"Steve!" He hears Peter's voice and instantly turns towards it. He's near Wanda and Pietro.
"Peter! Are you okay?" When the kid nods, he turns toward the other two. "What's going on?"
"Some guy with a mustache showed up with police officers and they're talking to Mrs. Schmidt in her office."
"About what?"
"We don't know."
"How long have they been here?"
"Not long, maybe 20 minutes?"
"Why are you guys on the stairs?"
"The police officers asked us to stay together." She nods towards the lady and the officer. Steve squares his shoulders and walks over.
"Excuse me?"
"Hello," the lady with the clipboard says, "are you Steve?"
He's surprised, "uh, yeah?"
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Celia Jensen. We're here to help."
Steve turns when he hears "Hey, Mrs. Jensen."
Tony stands with the other three in the entryway. Tony looks at the stairs, "Hey guys!" He says jovially, "Hey Pete!"
Peter lights up at being recognized. Steve stomps over, "What's going on, don't— why— What's happening!" He's feeling a little lightheaded. They're here. In his home. In this place where there's people he loves in danger of being hurt. If Mrs. Schmidt finds out it has something to do with him… He swallows thickly, feeling like he can't get enough air.
"Steve?" Natasha's voice sounds concerned.
He inhales a rasping breath, heart pounding.
"Steve!" Clint shouts, grabbing his shoulder, "you need to breathe!"
"Trying." He wheezes.
Mrs. Jensen walks over, kneeling down in front of where he's hunched over. "Steve? Where's your inhaler?"
He can't speak, just shakes his head.
"Do you not have one?"
He nods and she frowns, "have you ever had a prescription inhaler?"
He shakes his head no and she looks at the police officer. "See? She lied about that too."
The police officer nods and takes notes in a notepad.
After a few minutes he's able to regain breath and stand up straight. "Can I please know what's going on now?"
—-
Tony holds out his hand. "Can I have your hearing aid?"
Steve looks at him unsure, but reaches up and gingerly pulls it out.
Tony snags it and hands it to the police officer. "Here's the source."
"Source of what?" Steve asks him.
"Steve?" Tony says, feeling suddenly unsure of how Steve was going to take the news that he'd been being spied on. "You remember when I gave you that T-shirt?"
"The baseball one?"
"Yep. That had a bug in it. A listening device."
Steve looks at him uncomprehendingly, "huh?"
"A listening device. To hear what is going on around it. But it didn't capture enough. So, I made that." He points to the hearing aid. "It's been recording since I gave it to you at your party."
Steve's face is pale. His voice is a whisper when he speaks, "why?"
"You needed help. We didn't know how else to give it. The TA? He's the one who tried CPS. That's when you came to school with those bruises around your neck, right?"
Tony watches as Steve goes on the defensive, "guys, I don't know what's going on here, but everything is fine. Please leave, okay?"
Bucky steps forward, "Steve! What are you saying? Everything is not fine! She's been abusing you, we've heard it!"
Tony turns towards the gasps from the staircase. Wide eyes stare back at him, and he turns to Steve who has panic written across his face, but his eyes are trained on a door. Steve's voice is barely audible, "you guys must have misheard. Mrs. Schmidt doesn't like visitors, you guys should go. Please."
Then it hits Tony why Steve's still defending her. Because he thinks she's staying. He's worried about the repercussions.
Tony strides forward, grabbing Steve's shoulders and bending to be exactly eye level. "Steve? Mrs. Schmidt is going to jail. So is Mr. Schmidt. After their trial of course. But we've got solid evidence against them. It's happening. You don't have to lie for her anymore."
Steve just stares at him. Expression blank.
"Steve?"
His eyes blink to Tony's, "you're… you're sure?"
Tony's lips press together, he nods and gestures to the lady with the clipboard, "Mrs. Jensen? Care to explain?"
"Hello Steve, I'm from CPS, a different district than yours, but Mr. Stark called me in. We've received bountiful evidence from what has been happening in the house that violates not only multiple housing rules for government funded homes for children, but human rights violations as well. Your previous attempts to contact CPS have been unearthed as well, and the people who were in charge of those are being investigated for negligence and conspiracy. So, to take out all the legal jargon. Mrs. Schmidt will be going to trial for her actions and will not be in charge of this house anymore."
Tony feels Steve shaking. He grips Steve's shoulders tighter, "do you understand?"
"What happens now?" He asks, his eyes going to the staircase.
Tony smiles. "Thought you'd never ask!" He puts a hand over Steve's shoulder and walks him to the staircase. "Hey everybody! I'm Tony. Today, if it's alright with you, you guys will be coming over to my house, and then tomorrow, you'll come back here, and someone else, someone good, will be here to take care of you. Mrs. Schmidt has to go away forever. Does that sound good?"
Stunned faces stare back at him. Faces of shock, faces of disbelief. And it pains him that he knows why they can't trust his words right off. Hard to trust when you have no basis to do so.
Steve's gaping at him, "What? Who?"
Bucky steps up. "Um, that parts on me." He gestures to the door. "He was hoping to get here today, but he's getting here tomorrow. His name is Sam Wilson. My dad worked with him in the Air Force and he's totally qualified. We wanted to make sure you all got to stay together."
Steve seems to blink really slowly, and then it hits him, his eyes are on the kids on the staircase, "we get to stay together?"
Bucky smiles, so does Natasha and Clint, "Yeah, Steve. You get to stay here. With them."
"Mrs. Schmidt is leaving?"
"Yes, Steve."
"You're sure?"
"100%"
"And… we get to stay together? All of us? Together?"
The rawness of the question cuts through the room. Tony finds his voice is quiet when he responds, "Yeah, Steve. Together."
Steve strides forward, hauling Peter off the steps and wrapping his bony arms around the kid, then grabbing at Wanda and Pietro, pulling them into the hug. Then he's quickly waving to the rest. They tumble and squeak and squeal as the weirdest group hug forms, half on the stairs and half up the stairs. Tony watches as the kids cry, half still unsure what's going on, just feeding off of Steve's energy. Steve is still holding tightly to Peter and the kid's face is pressed tightly against Steve's chest. "I'm staying. I'm here." Tony hears him saying. "You're safe now." Then Steve's head whips up and he looks at Tony, eyes wet and face red from crying. He holds out his hand, eyes meeting the four of them. Bucky doesn't hesitate, reaching out and allowing himself to be hauled into the group hug. The kids squeal with glee at the new addition and that causes Clint and Natasha to join, laughing and squeezing whatever arms are within reach.
But Steve doesn't stop there. He looks at Tony, hand outstretched again, determined. Tony rolls his eyes but grabs Steve's wrist, and with surprising strength Steve hauls him into the hug. Arms wrap around him and he's laughing when he feels Steve's hand on his forearm. He looks at him and Steve's eyes are so earnest, and so honest that it almost hurts to look at him.
"Thank you." Steve says so softly and so sincerely, "thank you. I don't know how I can ever thank you enough."
Tony looks at him and wills the emotion that's constricting his throat to dissipate. "Just promise me you'll stay out of trouble from now on. That's all the thanks I require."
Steve laughs, eye's still wet and voice still watery, but he really laughs, loud and relieved and happy. And Tony watches as every single kid turns to stare at Steve in surprise.
And like a chain reaction, every single one of them is smiling and laughing and realizing that something really good must be happening.
—
It's with a special kind of glee that Clint, Bucky, Natasha, and Tony watch Mrs. Schmidt be hauled out of the house in handcuffs.
Mrs. Schmidt glares at Steve and her voice is a hiss as she speaks at him, "you think you're so special. You're nothing but a waste of space!"
Bucky and Clint make moves to speak but Steve just shakes his head, turning back to go inside where the majority of the kids are still waiting.
Howard Stark walks out of Mrs. Schmidt's office and calls the kids to attention.
"Hello Everybody. My name is Howard Stark and I'm going to be taking you guys to my house tonight. Is that okay?"
17 heads swivel to Steve who stands at the base of the stairs. Steve nods and the rest of the kids nod eagerly back.
Howard laughs, "okay, sounds good. Why don't you guys go grab whatever you'd like to bring for the evening, and we'll have dinner at my house, and then get you guys squared away for the evening."
Steve turns to the kids, "don't bring too much. Just your toothbrushes and pajamas, and a change of clothes. Use your backpacks as a bag, and if you don't have a backpack, share with someone else, if you need help just ask me."
The kids scamper up the stairs and Steve sinks to the bottom step. Bucky watches Howard Stark go and sit next to Steve.
"You doing okay?"
"I think I'm in a dream."
"Not a dream, pal. This is the real deal."
"Mr. Stark?"
"Call me Howard."
"Howard?"
"Yeah?"
"How do you know if the new guy is going to be any better?"
This causes them to pause, the room goes quiet. Then Mr. Stark speaks. "I've vetted him, my lawyers vetted him. The organization that runs government housing for kids vetted him. And also? I would never let anything I had a hand in, be run like this. You guys are stuck with me now. Now that I know this house exists? Good luck getting rid of me. If he doesn't treat you right, he'll answer to me. But hey, I've talked to him on the phone and I gotta say, I don't think you have anything to worry about."
Steve nods, "thanks. I still can't believe it."
"Believe it, pal. And, since the house is going to be empty, I have professional cleaners coming tonight and part of tomorrow. They'll get this place back up to code. You and the rest of the kids will be taken care of like you should have been all along."
It's at that phrase that Steve's head ducks, eyes resting in his hands, and shoulders shaking.
Howard looks up at them, surprise and unsureness crossing his face.
Bucky laughs. The Starks aren't good with emotions.
Bucky settles next to Steve, and throws his arm over his shoulder. "Hey, we can be real neighbors now. Hang out and stuff. You can beat me at video games more."
Steve lets out a watery chuckle and wipes at his eyes. "This all sounds really nice."
And the way he says it sounds like 'I hope it's real'.
Bucky intends to make sure he knows it is.
—