So, this chapter (and the next) are just domesticated, family fluff. We will get back to Loki in a little while but I just wanted to get some bonding moments out first.

Again, Natasha deserves the world and all of the Avengers deserve a hug.

Thank you to anyone keeping up with this story; reviews are always appreciated.

Enjoy :)

Tony woke up slowly; it took him a few moments to remember where he was and why he was there. He could feel Pepper's warm body next to his, but his face and arm felt strangely cold. A smattering of rain tapped lightly at the window, but the sound was almost drowned out by the howling wind, which was coming through the large, empty space where his expensive downstairs window used to noise of the wind sounded like a pack of hungry wolves out hunting their next meal; coupled with the cold temperature in the room and the disconcerting feeling that he was being watched it made Tony feel like he was starring in his own thriller movie.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small, dark mass twitch. He tried to steady his breathing, feeling his heart beat a staccato rhythm in his chest, before turning his head fully to the intruder. His momentary panic abated somewhat when his eyes adjusted to the gloom and he was able to make out the tiny form standing in the corner.

"Nat? You okay?"

The little girl didn't answer, although she did move a little closer to the bed, a sliver of moonlight lighting on her pale, frightened face.

"Hey," Tony sat up quickly, his tiredness waning at the first sign of her distress, "come here, Sweetie; it's okay."

Natasha's movements were hesitant at first, but after a few steps she ran to the bed and flung herself into Tony's open arms. Tony pulled her up onto his lap, stroking her tangled hair and whispering soothing words of comfort. He felt Pepper shift slightly behind him and turned to place Natasha on the bed between them. As soon as she touched the mattress, Natasha turned and curled herself into Pepper's chest.

Tony met Pepper's tired, worried gaze over the young girl's head before indicating that he was going to go make some drinks for them. As he tiptoed across the landing he could hear a slight disturbance coming from one of the other bedrooms; on peeking around the door he found all four of the boys huddled together on the bed – Bruce and Thor under the duvet, and Clint and Steve with their own wrapped round their shoulders.

Four little heads whipped around to his as he pushed the door further open.

"Looks like it's hot chocolate all round then?"

Their cherubic faces all lit up at the prospect, and Tony ushered them out of the room and into his own bedroom where Pepper and Natasha were still cuddled up. He was glad to see that Natasha was looking much happier, and she even managed to issue a throaty laugh as Clint divebombed the pair on the bed.

Tony tasked Bruce with helping him to make and carry the drinks, he's the only one I trust not to break something, and so the pair headed downstairs into the cold, the sound of childish laughter and squeals following them down to the floor below.

As they passed through the frigid sitting room Tony glanced at the large open space, shuddering at the small pools amassing on his nicely tiled floor where the rain was leaking in. His three iron sentries were still stood outside, impervious to the cold and rain.

Tony and Bruce headed into the kitchen, which was just as cold but, mercifully, dry and set about making the drinks. Bruce, despite the cold and his disturbed sleep, was looking practically chipper -well, less frowny than usual, anyway.

"Enjoying yourself there, Big Guy?"

Bruce laughed self-consciously before answering.

"It just takes me back to being a kid - an actual kid, I mean. My cousins and I would sometimes have sleepovers and stay up all night telling ghost stories until someone would come in to tell us off for being too rowdy."

"Literally cannot imagine anyone ever describing you as rowdy, but go on…"

Bruce shot the genius a playful glare before continuing.

"Those were just some of my happiest memories; just being a normal kid, you know? No Hulk, no violence, no responsibility – just a happy kid with his whole life ahead of him."

There's a wistfulness to Bruce's voice that makes Tony wish he could give him that life back. He realises, with little surprise, that he would do just about anything to give his teammates the lives they deserve. He promises them, silently, that if he can't find a way to turn them back, he'll make damned sure that they get to have a happy, normal childhood; no more crime-fighting, no more living in fear of the next big bad. Just five kids, spoilt beyond reasoning, living their best lives.

He's pulled from his musings by the soft tap of bare feet behind him. He turns to find Clint, now in Hawkeye pyjamas – and they call me a narcissist – standing in the doorway, cheeky smile in place.

"Pepper wondered if you'd gotten lost."

"Oh, and you're the most appropriate to send on a rescue mission?" Tony quipped.

"Nah, just the only volunteer."

Tony used the unexpected extra pair of hands to his advantage and instructed Clint to carry up some microwaved popcorn, with strict orders not to eat it all on his way up the stairs; the mischievous glint in the young archer's eye doing nothing to reassure him.

Once everyone was back upstairs and snuggled in the bed, Pepper pressed play on the DVD she'd set up to watch whilst Tony was out of the room. As the opening scenes of Cheaper by the Dozen started playing Tony glanced about him at his little makeshift family.

Bruce lay on the edge of the bed next to Pepper, resting his dark head against the older woman's chest as Pepper played with his untidy hair. Clint lay on Pepper's other side with his back pressed up against her. Despite him chattering away rapidly as they were all getting settled, Clint was asleep within moments of the film starting; Tony reached over and pulled Clint's thumb from his mouth -don't want him getting into any more bad habits.

Clint was practically spooning Natasha who was resting her own head on Steve's shoulder. Tony had to stifle his laughter at the sight of Steve's distress. The poor boy was lying ramrod straight, barely breathing, eyes flickering to Natasha every few seconds. Natasha was fidgeting continually, throwing glares at the young super soldier – clearly unimpressed with how little comfort he was providing. After a few prods in his ribs Steve finally seemed to get the message; Tony watched with fascination as the blushing boy self-consciously wrapped his arm around the young redhead and Natasha snuggled gleefully into the space between his neck and shoulder.

As fun as it was for Tony to see Steve so far out of his comfort zone, he didn't want the guy to feel too embarrassed about his current predicament. To help him feel a little more at ease, Tony offered his own services as a pillow to Thor, who was on his other side. He regretted his offer almost instantly as Thor rested half of his body across him, feeling like a dead weight against Tony's chest. The young god was soon laughing raucously at the antics of Steve Martin and co, leaving Tony with a loud ringing in one of his ears. Despite his discomfort, Tony couldn't help laughing along with the happy blonde; Tony felt the pressure in his chest lessen as the night progressed. He could almost forget the troubles they, and the world, were facing as he lay cocooned in the blankets with Pepper by his side, and their pseudo family snuggled around them.

The laughter from the group started to die down as the film was drawing to a close, and as the final credits rolled Tony found himself the only one still awake. Thor was snoring, none too delicately, down his ear, Steve and Natasha were curled into one another, soft smiles adorning their sweet little faces. Clint and Bruce were both cuddled into Pepper, who had an arm around each of them. Tony's heart swelled at the sight of them all.

With the movie having finished, and the wind and rain having died down, the gentle snores and sleepy breaths of his companions eventually soothed Tony off to sleep.

The following morning dawned warm and bright. Tony's arm was dead with having Thor's full weight upon it for the whole night, but he found himself not caring about the inconvenience when greeted with Thor's bright smile when he awoke. The pair carefully manoeuvred themselves from the bed, careful not to wake the three still-sleeping children. Pepper and Bruce had already vacated the room, but Clint, Natasha and Steve were all still sound-asleep. Steve and Natasha did not appear to have moved at all through the night. Clint, however, was star-fishing across half of the bed, mouth open - is he drooling?! – one arm flung across Natasha's slender back.

Tony snapped a quick photo on his phone of the three slumbering, and another of Thor pretending to jump on them, before he and the young god padded downstairs in search of the others. The chill of the previous night had abated, and a warm breeze now drifted through the living area. The puddles of water had also disappeared, although Tony couldn't be sure whether that was a natural occurrence or whether someone had been busy cleaning before he awoke.

The pair found Pepper, Bruce and Happy eating scrambled egg on toast at the kitchen table, chatting softly, but happily, amongst themselves. Tony was pleased to see that, despite yet another disrupted night, all three were looking cheerful and well-rested.

Tony served food up for himself and Thor and joined the group for breakfast. He delighted in the amused chuckles of his companions when he passed the pictures round of the trio still snoozing upstairs. He felt a lump form in his throat when Pepper showed him her own snap, of Tony fast asleep with all five of his fellow Avengers snuggled around him looking blissfully at peace.

Tony felt slightly embarrassed as he felt the hot prick of tears behind his eyes, unsure why he was being so emotional over one little picture, but he was saved the shame of his teammates noticing by Pepper, still always prepared to rescue me when I'm in a fix, who directed everyone's attention to the plans for the day.

"The window guys will be here around 9.30, the job should only take a few hours, but I think it best if the kids aren't here – we don't want this getting out to the media."

"Good call, but what are we going to do with them?"

"Well," she smiled, a little smugly, Tony thought, "Happy has agreed to wait in whilst the window is repaired, so I have arranged a little day of fun and adventure for us all."

"Oh? Care to share the details?"

Pepper had Bruce and Thor's rapt attention, their young faces breaking out in excited smiles as she continued talking.

"First, we're heading to Beach Bum's to rent some bikes, then we're going to bike the whole island. Around lunchtime we'll stop at Poppo's Taqueria and get some taco's. Then we're going to head up to Bean Point, see what we spot around there, might be lucky and see some dolphins! On the way back we can stop at Joe's and get some ice cream, any flavour you want, and when Happy tells us it's safe we can head back here. I thought we could end the day with a picnic or a BBQ on our beach?"

She ended with a question, suddenly seeming unsure of herself, despite the eager, approving faces looking up at her. Tony thought the day sounded wonderful, and he couldn't wait to get started, but he had one tiny, niggling doubt that he knew he would have to raise.

"Hon, it sounds amazing, but isn't the point of keeping them away from the window guys that no one sees them?"

"I know, I know, but hear me out. The window guys would be looking at you and knowing you are Tony Stark, even if you give a false name. So, when they see the kids it would start to raise questions. But you know no one gives you a second look here, they never have. And I can be the one going in and ordering things or speaking to people. We'll just be another family out enjoying themselves."

Her eyes were a mix of hope and fear, but Tony knew that she was right. They'd been coming here for years and, so far, no one had ever asked for a picture or autograph, never stared a little too hard trying to figure out who he was. The island seemed to live in a protective bubble, so far removed from the battle of New York and every other disturbance the Avengers had been involved in, that Tony wondered whether they'd even heard of Iron Man at all.

He gave Pepper his best reassuring smile before standing from the table.

"I'll wake the others – they'll need breakfast before we leave."

The cheers that followed him up the stairs seemed to have done his job for him, as three confused, sleepy little forms were trudging out of the bedroom as he reached the landing, rubbing their eyes and yawning.

"What's all the n-n-noise about?" asked Clint around a particularly large yawn.

"We were just discussing our plan for the day. To summarise, we're going on an adventure involving bikes, dolphins, tacos, ice cream and a mini beach party."

The trio exchanged gleeful smiles.

"But you need to fuel up first – breakfast is downstairs."

Clint and Steve needed no further encouragement, both took off down the stairs, racing one another to the breakfast table. Natasha remained behind, still not fully awake but looking more content than Tony could ever remember seeing her.

"Shall we, Sleepy Head?" he asked, as he offered her his hand. Unlike when he had made the same gesture, unwittingly, in his lab – geez, was that really only a few days ago? – Natasha accepted the proffered hand gladly, and the pair made their way down to the kitchen at a more sedate pace than the boys.

The groups' adventure got off to a slightly bumpy start with Clint and Thor insisting, against everyone's better judgement, that they be allowed to rent a tandem bicycle, Clint receiving a sharp kick to the shin for daring to suggest that Natasha may need training wheels, and Bruce making the startling revelation that he had never actually learned to ride at all.

After much discussion, Pepper and Bruce ended up with a tandem bike themselves, which made Clint and Thor demand one even more. With their somewhat high-pitched pleading drawing too much unwanted attention from passers-by, Pepper caved and allowed them to rent the bike of their choosing. Tony, Steve and Natasha all chose to go it alone and, after suiting up with helmets and knee pads, the group were finally on their way.

Tony could not remember the last time he had gone cycling, but after a few initial wobbles he was speeding down the sidewalk, outstripped only by Natasha and with Steve hot on his heels. The two tandem bikes were trailing behind; Bruce and Pepper were moving cautiously as Pepper guided Bruce through the motions. Clint and Thor, however, were having difficulty working as a team – despite trying for bursts of speed, they were hindered from getting far by Thor's woeful lack of steering skills.

Tony revelled in the sounds of whoops and cheers, and some curses, coming from his teammates; the warm sea-breeze and the smell of delicious comfort foods only adding to his sense of enjoyment as the group barrelled past the locals. He caught a few smiles and laughs from passers-by; clearly their merriment was infectious.

When the group finally got to Poppo's, Tony was aching and sweaty. He had pushed himself to the limit trying to keep up with the kids all morning and he was now paying the price. Despite being in good shape for his age, as Iron Man Tony did not have to engage in the strenuous physical training that some of his teammates did which was now leaving him at a disadvantage. Bruce was also looking a little peaky, Pepper having pushed him to work a little harder once he had gotten the hang of cycling. The rest were completely unfazed by the exertion, more than eager to carry on once lunch was over with.

Tony insisted on travelling at a more leisurely pace up to Bean Point, much to Natasha's chagrin and Bruce's delight. The trek was well worth it when Tony and Pepper got to witness the kids' reactions to seeing the downy, white sandy beach for the first time. The beach was empty, most people being unable to find parking in the area, so when they stowed the bikes and went flying across the sand their gleeful whoops and acrobatic stunts went unnoticed.

The kids stripped off to their bathing costumes to paddle in the sea; Pepper had packed a spare t-shirt for Natasha who was still unwilling to be seen in anything more revealing. A little further out the group spied some dolphins jumping and splashing in the water and Tony was quick to capture the looks of wonderment on each of their faces with his phone.

After a little swim, Tony retired back to the shore for a lie down, and he was joined momentarily by Natasha. She deigned to take her wet t-shirt off only to allow Tony to wrap her in a large, fluffy, blue towel. The pair sat side by side, watching the others splashing and giggling in the surf.

There was a soft, caring look on Natasha's face as she watched her companions playing; her big, green eyes sparkled with delight and she didn't even try to hide the smile that was stretching across her face.

Tony watched her pensively, wondering whether she had ever experienced anything like this when she was an actual child, whether she had any positive memories of family or friends. As he sat wondering, the towel slipped slightly down Natasha's back and two silvery, crescent shaped scars were revealed at the side of her shoulder blade.

Natasha's cheerfulness disappeared in an instant when she saw him looking and she hastily brought the towel back up and secured it over her shoulders. Tony was saddened to see her almost curling her body in on itself and a sullen frown settle over her features.

With another child, Tony may have shown off his own scars to make them feel better; he might have told them how the one on his knee was from falling out of a tree when he was seven, and how his father had scolded him for being so careless for a full fortnight. He would definitely have shown off the one on his thumb, which he got when he was building his first ever robot when he was just six. He may even have flashed the one on his hip, which he doesn't even remember getting because he was somewhat inebriated when the incident occurred.

Natasha, however, was not another child. She would not be able to pull up funny childhood anecdotes about the scars littering her tiny body. She would not be able to relate getting into scrapes with her friends or having her parents worry about her when she fell over. Her childhood scars were formed from horrors that Tony cannot bear to think about. The pain etched onto her face is harrowing for Tony to witness, but he knows that his discomfort is nothing in comparison to hers, so he does the only thing he can think of to comfort her; he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her small body against his side. He pressed a soft kiss to her damp curls, tasting saltwater and sand as he did so.

Natasha relaxed into Tony's embrace and the former playboy revelled in the fact that the girl was now so comfortable with him that she no would longer shy away from physical contact.

"You've got nothing to be ashamed of, Nat." He hadn't meant to speak the words out loud, and he almost regretted saying anything as he felt Natasha stiffen in his arms; but, after a moment, she relaxed against him once more.

"I hate them." Her voice was so low that the breeze almost carried her words away and Tony had to lean his head down to catch what she was saying. "I pretend they don't bother me, that battle scars are something to be proud of, but I hate them all. Every single one is linked back to something horrible, something I would rather forget. I wish I could rip them all away."

Tony doesn't know what to say to her; he doesn't want to offer empty platitudes or tell her that her feelings are invalid in any way, so he only holds her more tightly; and when he feels his t-shirt dampen with her silent tears he scoops her onto his lap and rocks her until she falls asleep curled against his chest.