A/N: Thank you so much for sticking with this AU. Once again, I stole the title from a kpop song. Also, my experience with babies is that I have a three years younger sister and a thirteen years younger half-brother and I've read some articles online, so feel free to tell me I'm wrong about something.

Jade4839: I'm pumped. Are you pumped? Cause I am ;)

Justaguest: Things have been quite alright, hope you've been alright too! I have the general idea of where I want to go with this story and which things I want to touch upon. And as a comic book nerd, I have a ton of things I'd love to cram into it ;) So watch out for obscure references :D

Chapter 2: I Seem Like an Adult But I'm Actually a Child That is Really Tall

Pietro was in shackles, feeling as if his whole world was about to fall apart.

He somehow managed to talk the Brotherhood into letting him bring his daughter to Bayville.

So, at the beginning of December Pietro ran to Norway. He couldn't look Crystal's sister in the eyes as she handed him Luna and instead, focused on the small human being in his arms.

She was beautiful, with short and so very soft blonde hair and blue eyes and he couldn't help but fall in love with her a bit more.

She didn't seem to like him just as much, though.

She cried during the whole trip back to Bayville. Hell, she cried during the whole first day he had her. He was sure Lance was going to bury them all alive. He himself almost started to cry in middle of the day, but Freddy – oh, Freddy – took her out of his arms for a second and just sat down with her, talking to her in a calming manner. She was asleep after a minute.

"H-How?"

"You're panicking" He explained, transferring her into Pietro's arms. "She can see that. You're scared and so is she."

Of course Pietro was panicking. The word she uttered the most between painful to hear cries was 'mama' and that broke his already shredded heart.

He nodded to Fred, thanking him and slowly making his way upstairs. For once in his life, he felt like going slow, the weight of Luna in his arms keeping him grounded.

He needed to get a job. Or something at least resembling a job. Lance couldn't possibly provide money for a kid that wasn't even fucking his and five almost adults with his job at a garage. They weren't ever really rich (except for that one glorious week or so) and a child couldn't possibly help with that.

But how was he supposed to get a job when he had Luna to take care of? It was Lance's only condition, that he took care of her himself, with the guys and Wanda helping only a tiny bit when it was necessary. And he didn't feel like giving up the time he had with her – he already missed so much, how was he supposed to willingly sacrifice more? What if something happened to her and he wasn't there? He hugged Luna closer to his chest, the sudden feeling of dread washing over him.

He had to focus solely on her for a while. He wasn't ready to part with her, even for a second.

Lance didn't really like kids at all.

Back in the orphanage he didn't have many friends and he wasn't overly fond of the younger kids – they used to follow him around, as if he was a freaking duck and they were his ducklings, copying his every move. He hated that, he preferred being alone with his thoughts than having a cult following.

Plus, kids were horrible. They just ate, shitted, slept and cried. And Lance was never a very patient person, so he got incredibly sick of them very quickly.

And that's exactly why he insisted on Kitty rescuing him by taking her out almost every day since the kid's arrival.

He respected that Pietro wanted to take care of her and be a real father. Hell, he thought that it was incredible that he even thought about taking responsibility for his kid. Great. Awesome.

The thing was, between work and bills and life Lance wasn't really all for living with a child. But it's not like he could kick Pietro out. They were a team, a family. There was no way he was leaving anyone behind.

And so Lance was waiting for Kitty – who told him specifically not to pick her up because Logan wasn't very friendly to anyone since Pyro and Gambit moved in – to arrive so they could go out for a movie when he saw something squirm on the couch. He sighed, putting down his glass of water to inspect the scene and sure enough, there was Pietro, sleeping on the couch with Luna shifting in his arms. He watched as the girl's face twisted to that of discomfort as she started to become more alert. She was surely about to cry.

Normally, Lance would ignore her, knowing that in a second Pietro would be awake and take care of that, but he looked at Pietro's face and winced. The guy's skin became almost grey, his hair was a mess and the circles under his eyes were almost black. So Lance took pity on him and delicately lifted the girl into his arms, walking out of the living room and to her room. He sat her down on the carpet, thinking that she'd probably walk over to some toys or something, but she just stood up and started to tug on his jeans.

"What do you want?" He furrowed his brows, confused as to why she would suddenly start to giggle. "Are you possessed or something?"

"Doll" She pointed to the two stuffed dolls on the floor and looked up at him with a smile, before tugging at her ear.

"No way."

Twenty minutes later Kitty walked into the Boarding House and found him on the floor of Luna's room, holding a doll and saying the stupidest shit about tea and castles and whatnot, since the next word Luna said to him was 'Cess' and pointed toward the crown sewn onto the dolls head.

"It's not what it looks like" Lance felt his cheeks flush as he stood up and tossed the doll aside. Luna immediately started to whine and he reached for the doll, trying to calm her down. "Shit. It's okay sweetie, nothing to worry about, see? Princess is alright, everything's fine."

Luna sniffed a bit and reached her small arms for him and he complied, hugging the girl.

"Aww."

"Not a word, KitKat."

Luna snuggled into him and after a few seconds wormed her way out of his arms and walked over to Kitty, curiosity written on her face.

"Hi" Kitty waved to her and leaned in, a bright smile appearing on her face and Lance felt something inside him shift as she laughed when Luna latched onto her pink sweater. "She's adorable" Luna played with the fabric for a second before sitting down, tugging Kitty with her. Kitty's laugh got louder as the girl reached for her doll, stuffing it into Kitty's hands. "Do you think we could like, maybe just stay in? Since she clearly wants to play?"

"Her name's Luna" He couldn't believe that he never mentioned it to Kitty. Sure, she knew that Pietro brought his daughter into their house, but she never asked questions about it. "And sure."

Pietro woke up and started to panic, knowing that there should be Luna in his arms. He ran around the house – no Luna, but Freddy's cooking, Todd's taking a shower, so she's not here, Wanda would never let anyone into her room. Half a second later he was in the doorway of Luna's bedroom, letting out a huge sigh when he saw her sitting on the floor with Lance.

"You've got quite the timing" Lance stood up and stretched, yawning. "Kitty just went back home a minute ago."

"Kitty was here?" What if she told someone? Well, surely Lance already told her about Luna, but he didn't want the X-geeks to know. It was already bad that he babbled it out to Violette. What if Daniels found out? What if Tabby found out?

"Yeah" Lance patted his shoulder, walking to his room. "You're welcome and no, it wasn't a problem to look after Luna."

"Sorry" He had to stop panicking. Freddy already told him it would get him nowhere. "Thanks."

Lance was about to turn around, surely to tease Pietro about something like they usually did when they heard the door slam open. They exchanged a look and Pietro was immediately by Luna's side, gathering her into his arms and running over to the window, ready to get the hell out-

They were surrounded. He could see the cars around their house and a few jets in the air. He felt his heart beating out of his chest and squeezed Luna tighter.

'They can't take her away.'

"Hello boys" He could hear a booming voice come from downstairs. Wanda walked out of her room, her hands in front of her, ready to strike. Pietro could hear Todd yell as he slipped out of the bathtub. "And girl. I'm only here to talk. Don't worry, we won't harm anyone."

Todd stumbled out of the bathroom, tugging his jeans on. Lance started to calmly come down the stairs, with Wanda not far behind. Todd looked at Pietro and when the older boy gave him a nod, followed after them.

"Mr. Maximoff, don't worry, we aren't here to harm your child."

"Then what's with the agents in our backyard?" Of course they knew about Luna.

"Just a precaution" The man smiled when Pietro slowly walked down with Luna in his arms. She didn't look too happy, but Pietro wouldn't risk leaving her alone. "Great. I have an offer for you lot."

Pietro refused to sit on the couch, opting to stand near the kitchen door if he needed a quick escape route. Wanda stood on the other side of the room, her eyes never leaving Pietro's. Todd sat on the armrest of the couch, only a meter away from him. Lance sat in his armchair, while Freddy moved to the couch.

Nick Fury was left with standing in the corner of the room, surrounded by the strategically placed Brotherhood members. Pietro shifted Luna to his left side, bouncing her. She looked disoriented for a second before starting to tug on his hair.

"Let's cut to the chase. I was wondering if you'd be interested in working for S.H.I.E.L.D." The man didn't look surprised with being cornered, which only made Pietro more weary. "You guys don't seem to have a lot to do these days, maybe except for Mr. Maximoff" He pointedly looked at Luna, who began to fuss under the man's gaze. Pietro started to whisper sweet nothings into her temple, trying to calm her down. "There's not many places that give opportunities to mutants as you may already know. You're all high school dropouts. And we pay a pretty good salary."

"And what if we say no?" Wanda shifted her weight to her left leg, ready to attack if it came to that.

"Then I'll retreat with my troops and we could all forget about this offer" Fury smiled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Give us some time" Lance stood up, walking over to the man. "We'll consider."

"Great" Fury extended his hand and Lance shook it, before looking at the card the man left in his palm. "Contact me when you've made your decision."

Pietro went back to panicking right after Fury had closed the front door. Luna was sensing his distress but somehow she didn't start crying, only poked at his face every now and then before tugging at her ear. He tried to focus on playing with her and watching her eat and then making sure she wouldn't drown while taking a bath. He laid her down in her crib and told her a story in Romani, brushing back her hair and wishing that maybe if he spoke it to her enough she'd learn it. The language was maybe the only thing he had left of his mother, this ghost like figure he mostly created in his own mind. It's not like his own father ever thought much of family values and heritage.

Maybe he should tell his father about Luna?

Pietro shook his head, resuming his tale of princesses and dragons and tried very hard to forget about the man.

Yeah, sure, they were a bit better than before. The whole Apocalypse ordeal made Magneto actually apologize for some things. But Pietro wasn't sure whether he wanted to introduce that kind of people into his daughter's life. It was bad enough that Pietro was the one taking care of her.

After Luna started to lightly snore he turned on the baby monitor and went back to his room, stripped and went to sleep.

Two hours later he was woken up by incredibly loud wails coming from the device next to his bed. He tugged on his sweats and ran into Luna's room, picking her up and trying to calm her down. He did everything he could think of. Changed her diaper, tried to feed her, rubbed her belly, hugged her close to his body and tried to get her back to sleep. By the end of it all, the whole Boarding House was awake and giving their own suggestions as to what could possibly be wrong, excluding Wanda who magically sound proofed her door.

Sometimes he really hated his sister.

After over an hour of constant wailing Pietro was close to crying himself. He weighted his options and stared pointedly at the phone.

Maybe he should call his father?

Pietro immediately chased the thought away, seeing how it could go from bad to worse if Magneto got involved. He tried to think of anyone else who could possibly know what to do before he gave up and dialed the number, Luna still crying into his shoulder.

"'Ello?"

"Can you wake up Violette?" Pietro started to bounce Luna up and down, but it didn't help at all. "And send her over to the Boarding House? Please, it's urgent."

It had to be one of the younger mutants since no questions were asked before he heard a firm confirmation. Pietro put down the phone and once again went over every trick he got from his book, hoping that she'd come.

Twenty minutes later Violette burst in through the door, her eyes bloodshot and panic evident on her face.

"Whas goin n?" She mumbled, looking around the hall.

Pietro was next to her after a second, giving her a pleading look.

"V, please help" His voice croaked and Luna still hasn't stopped crying. "I don't know what to do."

The child in his arms seemed to sober her up immediately. She looked back and forth from Luna to Pietro before reaching her arms over to hold her. Pietro handed his daughter to her, but the lack of close contact with her only seemed to worsen his state.

"Pietro, I haven't taken care of a child this young since I was five" Violette looked over the baby, before her eyes focused on something. "She's tugging on her ear."

"Well, yeah" He didn't think much of it, she's been doing that the whole day.

"It might be an ear infection or something" Violette yawned. "You need to take her to a doctor."

Three seconds later they were in front of a hospital, all three of them still in pajamas.

"What is wrong with you?" Violette sighed, pulling Luna closer to her and walking in.

Something dawned on Pietro.

"I don't have the money for it."

"What?"

Pietro looked at the phone bolted to the outer wall of the hospital, the numbers burning through his mind.

Maybe he should call his father?

He ignored the thought, focusing on the other set of numbers, full of promise and future perspectives.

"V" Pietro turned to her and fuck she was as confused as ever, probably still half asleep but he needed advice. "Should I take the offer or not?"

"What offer?" She blinked. "Dude, I can totally rob the Prof off enough money for a fucking doctor appointment, he won't mind. What are you even talking about?"

"Future" Maybe he was still half asleep himself, cause somehow he didn't care how it affected anyone except for Luna. "Should I take a risk if it will be better for her or just play it safe?"

He needed advice, because he was pretty inconsistent when it came to decisions like that. He tended to jump into things without much consideration but also almost never take any risks at all, too afraid for things to change or to actually confront people. But Violette? For him, she somehow always ended up on top, even though she did the riskiest things she could.

Or maybe she always chose the safe route? Who knows, the fact was, somehow Violette seemed like someone who knew what she was doing, even when she didn't. And Pietro really needed her opinion.

"Pietro" She stepped up to him, Luna still crying in her arms. "You know what you should do."

And that was the only thing he needed to call up Nick Fury.

The guys were pissed when they found out. They didn't hit him, although they were very close. Because he made a decision that affected them all on a whim in the middle of the night with fucking Violette as his only consultant.

"You know what? Fuck. You" Pietro snapped in the middle of Lance's talk. "Luna was sick. She needed a doctor. And we had no money what so ever to cover that. I know we are a team. I know that we are a family. But she's the most important person in my life" He stood up and fisted Lance's shirt, pulling him forward. "You want to hit me? Fine. But don't think that even for a second I'll regret that."

Because he couldn't. Not even five minutes passed before S.H.I.E.L.D. picked them up from the hospital, took care of Luna's ear infection, gave him the right medication for it and dropped Violette off at the Mansion. He read through the contract, signed it and was given a cell phone, his schedule, a new costume and a quick debriefing. He was back home within an hour, Luna sleeping in his arms, safe and on her way to being perfectly healthy and how could he possibly regret that? Being able to provide anything his daughter might ever need?

Lance took a hold of his hands and pried them off his shirt, huffing. They stared at each other for a second, not saying a word, before Lance sighed and turned to the guys.

"We should contact Fury then."

Pietro let a small smile make its way onto his face. And when Luna woke up after the eventful night he called Violette to thank her.

"No problem" She said and he could hear her smile. His heart clenched, knowing that if things had gone differently, he wouldn't even need to call her, since she'd be right there with him since the start. That she'd be a part of their family. That even though they all wanted it, they could never go back to how things were before she joined the X-Men.

After she hung up Pietro stared down at his new phone for a while, mulling over the pros and cons of what he was about to do.

He dialed the number, half of him praying that he wouldn't pick up.

"Hello?"

Pietro swallowed the bile that rose to his throat.

"Father?" He cleared his throat, looking down at Luna playing with her dolls near his feet. "I'd like you to meet someone."