Chapter Twenty - Friday, Part Three

Their apartment was cute.

After teleporting all of us over to their apartment (which lead to more excited cries from Peter), the Parkers invited us inside.

Ben glared at Tony, waiting for him to criticize the place.

"It's nice," Tony said softly. "Cozy."

"I think we have some ice cream if you'd like some dessert," May said, walking over to the fridge.

"Oh, it's fine," I said. "I took some cookies from the gala, and there's a bunch left over. I might eat a lot but I can't eat that much."

That was a lie. I could too eat that much. But I took a lot, so...

I requipped out another Tupperware of cookies, and May grabbed some plates as we all sat down on the couches.

Peter sat next to Tony and was still vibrating with excitement. "Can I see you do more magic, Elle, can I?"

I smiled at him. "Sure. Where's your map?"

He got up and ran to his room, before coming back with a giant map which he started pinning up on the wall. "I'm still trying to learn more geography," he told us as he finished taping it up and moving aside.

I stood up and requipped one of my tacks, thinking about Bucky Barnes and infusing it with magic, before I threw it at the map.

To all of our surprise, the tack flew towards the map and stopped about a foot away, hovering in air, before it dropped to the ground.

"What happened?" Tony asked.

I grimaced. "I was searching for the person from before the brainwashing. But my magic isn't registering it. Let's try this again."

I picked up the tack and took a few steps back, before closing my eyes and thinking of the Winter Soldier, breathing in and out, before I threw the tack.

Luckily, it flew over to Virginia and planted itself into the map.

"Oh, good, he's still in the US," I said. "Now we just gotta get some maps of Virginia."

"We could try with holograms again," Tony suggested.

"My magic doesn't like your holograms," I said, pulling out the tack.

Peter looked back and forth between us before running to his room. "Wait right there!"

A few seconds later he ran back out and held out a marble. "What if you project the hologram on the floor? Maybe your magic doesn't like it because you're using a thumb tack, and the hologram can move?"

We all stared at him.

Tony smiled. "He could have a point. It could be because the thumb tack is stationary and it can't move if the hologram is jostled."

"Alright," I said, taking the marble. "Let's see Virginia."

Tony projected a map of Virginia onto the floor, and I closed my eyes and concentrated on the Winter Soldier before rolling the marble. Unlike the thumb tack, the marble glowed much more, shining from the inside (probably because it's made of glass, and as a crystal, it works a bit like a lacrima). The thumb tack usually barely glows for an outline.

The marble rolled to a stop. Tony jostled his phone and moved the map, and the marble moved with it, so it was on the same place it was before. I picked up the marble and stood back while Tony zoomed in on where it landed, and then we repeated the process. Finally, we got close enough to the facility that the marble began spinning around the place Bucky was in.

"That's so cool," Peter whispered, his eyes still wide.

"Even though it's not that exciting?" I asked.

"It's still magic!" Peter said.

Tony chuckled and grabbed a cookie. "That marble idea was pretty smart, Peter. Now, where are these Legos of yours?"

Peter led Tony into his room, a tiny, nearly closet-sized thing off the corner of the living room. From where May, Ben and I were sitting in the living room, we could easily see Peter showing Tony a lot of his different building pieces.

"He's really a lot better with children than you'd think," May murmured.

I nodded. I couldn't see what Peter was showing Tony, but whatever it was, it made Tony yell, "Elle, I'm keeping him!"

Immediately, I threw up a wall of wind redirecting sound as both May and Ben cried out.

"It's not what you think!" I shouted, my hands up in a placating manner. "It's not like Tony wants to adopt Peter or whatever."

It was enough for them to share a wary glance and sit back down.

"Tony has a really bad problem communicating," I started. "We're working on it. But when he says he's 'keeping' Peter, it doesn't mean that he wants to adopt Peter. Tony is too scared of becoming Howard to ever adopt a child without a lot of reassurances from other people, and even then it's pushing it."

"What does it mean, then?" May asked warily.

"Tony gets attached really easily," I said. "He probably sees a lot of himself in Peter, back when he was younger, before he started acting out for Howard's approval. And Peter is smart and bright and…adorable. If anything, it means that sometimes, Tony will probably invite Peter over for science experiments, and be like that one uncle who everyone loves to spend time with but most people agree probably shouldn't take care of children in the long-term without a lot of help and backup, or at least without getting himself some more self-care first. More like a mentor."

"And that's it?" May asked, a bit more relaxed.

Ben was still keeping quiet, probably because he wasn't sure what to say.

I nodded. "He'll probably randomly give Peter presents, like Legos. The problem with Tony is that he's not really good at showing affection, so he tries to do it through his money. Don't turn his stuff down. It's not charity, it's a gift, and turning him down is like rejecting him. I'm trying to get him to adjust a bit better than just using his money, but it's not going to change overnight."

"We don't need charity," Ben protested.

"It's not charity," I repeated. "It's Tony's way of showering people with love, he doesn't know any better. I'm trying to get him to see how some people are uncomfortable with it, and he's been dialing it back a bit, but again, it's not going to change overnight. Though he probably will try and pay for Peter's education."

"We can-" Ben started, but I was already shaking my head.

"Trust me, just accept it the first time around, otherwise Tony will go through the process of secretly creating a scholarship for Peter to cover everything and it's just going to annoy everyone who has to do the paperwork."

May snorted, but didn't say anything.

Ben gave me a wary look. "I don't like him just bursting into our lives like this."

"He's not bursting into your lives," I said logically. "I am. I'm just dragging him along for the ride."

May started laughing then. "Alright."

"May!" Ben exclaimed. "What gives? I thought you didn't like Tony Stark."

"I didn't," she said, shrugging, before glancing over to Tony and Peter. We followed her gaze, and there was something about the scene that was really sweet. There was an overwhelming amount of joy on Peter's facer, and a soft, fond look on Tony's. "At least not until I met him in person. And there are still parts of him that I don't like, but seeing him with Peter..." She shrugged again, and smiled at Ben. "Besides, there are parts of you that I don't like."

"May!"

She laughed and teasingly bumped her shoulder into his. "I told you something special was going to happen today," she reminded him, her eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, I found twenty bucks on the ground."

I snorted.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about," May told him, before turning to me. "Will you take down the sound barrier?"

I smiled at her and dropped it. "Sure. Glad you noticed."

"Peter, Mr. Stark, come have something to drink," she said, grabbing some cups from the kitchen. I stood up to help her.

"Oh, sit down, hon," she said. "No need for you to get up."

Before I could go over to her anyway, or sit down, Peter came up to me and grabbed my hands. "Elle, Elle, Mr. Stark said he liked my designs!"

I picked him up and spun him around, and he cried out in glee. "That's great, kiddo."

I sat him down on the couch and sat next to him, Tony joining us on his other side. "I told you, it's Tony."

"S-Sorry. Tony," Peter said, blushing furiously.

"Thank you, May," I said, taking a glass from her as she rejoined us and Ben on the couches. "And you know, you're only a few years older than me."

"I know, hon," she said.

"And thank you for inviting us over," Tony said, taking a glass from the table.

"I was wondering that, too," Ben said pointedly.

"Ben!" May chastised. "And it's not a problem. I'm not going to leave a sick man and a pregnant woman out alone."

We both stared at her. "WHAT?"

"How do you know that?" Tony asked, frowning. "We haven't revealed it to the public yet."

"And I'm not pregnant," I said, shaking my head.

May reached out and took my hands in hers. "Oh, honey," she said gently. "I'm a nurse, I know these things. You're a bit over eight weeks."

I was silent, and exchanging confused looks with Tony, who knew that I hadn't even physically existed in this universe for even a week. "Elle, would that line up?" he asked.

I did the math. "Well, yeah, but…you know how I got here!" I exclaimed. "How can I be pregnant?"

"What do you mean?" Peter asked with a worried voice as he looked at my stomach curiously. "Is the baby hurt?"

I picked up the cup and drank a few gulps of water, suddenly thirsty. "Remember how I said that I'm well known, where I was? Well, it was another dimension. And the thing is, a baby shouldn't have survived a dimensional jump."

"Maybe it's a gift," Tony said softly. "One could consider it…miraculous, even."

Ben squinted at him. "I wouldn't have pegged you as a religious man."

"I'm not, not really," Tony said, shrugging with a smile on his face. "Though...there are a few parts I'm starting to reconsider."

"Wait, so Elle and the baby are gonna be okay?" Peter asked.

Tony pulled out his phone and scanned me. "Maybe."

"What do you mean, maybe?" Ben asked.

"JARVIS- uh, my AI, I named him after the real Jarvis - should have registered that Elle's pregnant," Tony commented, going over the results of his scan. "The baby has a heartbeat by now, JARVIS should have at the very least picked up a second life form. It's likely that her magic is creating a barrier that's preventing us from sensing the baby. It's already hard enough for JARVIS to get basic vitals from Elle anyway, it was something I was going to work on. Obviously, it's not enough. So now we're going to have to magic-proof certain machines if we ever want to do an ultrasound, much less other things."

"Laxus is gonna freak," I muttered. "I'm gonna freak."

"You seem okay now," Peter said.

"I don't think it's hit me yet," I told him. "It'll probably hit me later. I think. With the way my head works, it might not hit me until the baby's already born."

"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea," Tony muttered. "We'll talk over this later then."

"Wait," Peter said, frowning, and he turned to Tony. "You're sick?"

Tony stopped playing with his phone. "Uh…"

"Yes," I said gently. "Tony is sick, but we're working on a way for him to get better."

"Is it really bad?" Peter asked, starting to tear up.

"Hey, I've got healing powers, remember?" I said, softly nudging him. "But I'm mostly just staving off the sickness until we find a permanent cure. And we will find one. I know things, remember?. He'll be alright, it will just be awhile. And there won't be any Iron Man-ing unless it's an emergency."

Peter bit his lip, before he asked. "Okay. But can you still use magic when you're pregnant?"

Tony looked over at me, projecting up the image of the facility Bucky was stationed at. "That's a good question. Not just your healing magic, but would you be able to do a mission? If we need to, I can go, but…"

I nodded. "Yeah," I said, grabbing some cookies and taking a bite. "So, back at my guild, there were these two women; Enno, and Ur. Enno wasn't very strong magical-wise. She mostly had an enhancing magic, and so she worked at the guild instead of going on quests while she was pregnant. Ur is one of the Wizard Saints I mentioned that stayed behind. She's extremely powerful, and she kept doing quests up until a month or so before she gave birth, mostly because it was more difficult for her to move than use magic by that point. They weren't high level quests, but she could still do them. Breaking into a facility and kidnapping a brainwashed assassin from Nazis won't be too difficult. If, however, something like a giant squid attacks a city, then it would be a lot more dangerous to use magic, because I'd need to use a higher level of magic, or at the very least, a very high concentration of magic, though it is generally better to bring out the bigger spells for things like that."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Have you fought a giant squid before?"

I made a face. "I'd rather fight a giant squid than giant bugs. Ugh."

"Wait, what's this about Nazis?" May asked. "Elle, you can't do that, you're eight weeks pregnant!"

I shook my head. "Look, while most of the pregnant symptoms for mages are the same as they are for non-mages, we don't get any sort of morning sickness for a few more months, and nothing should swell up for a few more months either. There's a reason why I didn't notice. That, and I thought it wasn't possible. The only symptoms I've really had are me eating a lot more, and that's just to supply for the extra energy I spend on the baby and magic."

"I dunno, you were crying a lot during some of the shows you showed me," Tony said, taking a bite of a cookie. "And you're cooking a lot."

I shook my head. "Nah, that's normal."

He raised an eyebrow. "There was a lot of crying."

"Well, it was sad!"

Peter giggled.

"I'm sorry, can we go back to the Nazis?" Ben asked.

May held up a hand and looked at me. "I'm trusting that you know more about magical pregnancies than I do, but you need to promise me you won't take unnecessary risks."

I nodded, keeping her gaze. "I can be a bit reckless when it's my own life, I'll admit to that. But it's not just me now, I'm carrying a tiny life inside of me. I'll be extra cautious."

May nodded.

"Nazis!" Ben yelled. "Why are Nazis still a problem?"

I turned to look at Peter. "Peter, is Tony the only superhero you like?"

He shook his head. "I like some more but he's my favorite and he's real."

Tony gave a soft smile.

"Do you know the story of Captain America?"

"Ya-huh," Peter said, nodding.

"So do you remember HYDRA?"

He nodded. "They were the evil scientists Nazis who made an opposing serum that was used on Red Skull who tried to take over the world, or something." Peter made a face. "The comics weren't that clear."

I shrugged. "No, that's pretty accurate. Especially considering the amount of information everyone else was missing. And the stuff that needs to stay top secret. But anyway. Basically, HYDRA went into hiding, but it's still alive and kicking. And it's in more than a few government things, so I need to be careful, because I don't know if this is a HYDRA facility, or a different official facility with HYDRA hidden way, way underneath."

"Ohhhh," Tony said. "So that's why you don't want me to go."

"And you're okay with just telling us this?" Ben asked, looking at Tony.

He shrugged. "Elle's pretty much in charge here. I'm just going along with it, for the most part. If she thinks you guys can know, then there's a reason. And besides...even if I didn't agree, it's not like I could stop her. She's out-stubborned me."

"I don't think that's a word," I told him.

"If you're really sure," Ben said, exchanging a look with May before they both turned to Peter.

"Why are you all looking at me?" he pouted.

I smiled, messing with his hair.

"Elle!" he said, swatting me away a bit, but he was giggling.

"Peter can keep a secret," I said, moving my hands away from his hair in order to give him a little tickle. "It'll be fine."

Well, he can kinda keep a secret. But it doesn't really matter, kids have 'crazy' imaginations.

"Elle!" Peter gasped, squirming and squealing as my fingers darted to his ribs.

I stopped and held out my arms, still laughing a bit. "Alright Peter. But we should probably get going soon. It's getting late, and you need your sleep."

"Really? Can't you stay a bit later?" Peter whined, drooping immediately. Oh My God, he looks like a kicked puppy.

"Su-" Tony caved, but I cut him off.

"Sorry, Peter," I said. "But we've got to prepare for our mission tomorrow, too. I promise we'll come and visit. And even if we won't we can send you messages."

"Okay," Peter said, still slumped a bit.

"Do I get a hug?" I asked, holding out my arms more, and he ran closer to them and squeezed me tight.

He was still clinging to me a few moments later.

"Okay, kiddo," I said. "You can let go now."

"I'm trying to hear the baby's heartbeat," Peter said.

"You'll need an ultrasound for that," Tony said, getting up next to me. "Even with normal pregnancies, you can't just hear it like that."

"Oh," Peter slumped, before turning and looking at Tony shyly.

He rolled his eyes and opened his arms. Peter lit up and ran to hug him.

"It was…interesting meeting you," Ben said.

May laughed. "It was nice meeting you guys. We look forward to seeing you again. Please try and give us a heads-up."

I nodded and handed her some more of the cookies. "No problem. Bye guys. Bye Peter."

"Bye Elle! Bye Tony!" Peter said happily. "Goodnight!"

"Bye Peter, it was nice meeting you," Tony waved as we left. "Goodnight."

The door closed behind us and Tony took a deep breath of the night air.

"Back to the mansion?" he asked.

I nodded and took his hand. "Got everything?"

"Yep."

"Then let's go."

Do you know how hard it is to detach yourself from an adorable child that wants you to stay?...Pretty damn hard (I have a five-year old cousin that I don't get to see a lot and she adores me, so I'm pretty used to this now) Luckily for Tony, Elle is used to tiny children, and can resist (but only by avoiding Peter's puppiness, lol).

Also BOOM, Elle is pregnant. I'm pretty sure only one of you saw this coming and that was because I told you, so...yeah.

There will be some more deep talks (depression/philosophical contemplation likes to kick in at night, okay?) and some surprise visits from other Fairies in the next few chapters before we go and save Bucky.

And Tony would so find a way to make a scholarship completely unconnected to him so Peter gets a full ride wherever the hell he wants. We all know he would.