Guys, if anyone actually read this, I am so sorry I haven't updated! My computer makes me copy and paste things and it was having problems when I tried to put this up a few days ago. I hope I can add another chapter very soon. Constructive criticism is always appreciated and reviews are adored. Love you all :)

Chapter One: A Place To Stay

-Fifteen minutes before-

"Shit, shit, shit!" Tony cried as the van's engine spluttered and broke down.

"That's not a good word," Phil said from the back seat. Tony looked at the kids, through the rearview mirror.

"Sorry, but this is really bad." Tony started to get out of the van.

"What's wrong?" Thor asked, from the passenger seat of the van, as he started to get out with his older brother.

"The van's broken." Tony said as he popped the hood. Smoke came pouring out and Thor coughed, waving the dark smoke out of his face.

~~Stony~~

"You guys remember what I told you, about blending in, right?" The kids all nodded.

"Our last name is Smith," Bruce said.

"And we are from California," Pepper provided.

"We are going to visit our aunt, Claire, in Canada," Rhodey told.

"Our parents died in a fire last month," Loki frowned.

"And we aren't rich," Justin grumbled.

"Good job, guys. Just remember that is our story, for anyone who asks." He grabbed Natasha's car seat off the ground, by the hotel's entrance, and led the kids inside.

-Five minutes later, now present time-

"What do you mean, you have no rooms left?! How can you have no rooms left?!"

"We are a very small family-owned hotel, Mr. Smith, in a very small town. We only have four bedrooms and they are all full. I'm very sorry, but there is no way I can give you a room, we have none. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"Anna!" A small voice yelled, and Tony turned to see a little girl, about two years old, running with a huge smile on her face. The lady at the front desk, Anna, smiled.

"Peggy! Hi, sweetheart. Hey, Steve."

Tony hadn't turned his eyes away from the tall, blonde man who was standing in the entrance. The man had been looking back at Tony until he heard his name.

"Hello, Anna. How are you doing; how's your father? I came to bring by the paperwork I left at home the last time I was out." He had a warm, caring smile on his face.

"Dad's great and so am I, thank you for asking. That's great; you can just put it on the counter. Mr. Smith? Can I call someone for you?"

Tony turned to face the woman again. He shook his head. "Uh, no. We don't know anybody who could come get us; but, uh, I guess we will figure something out." He bent down to grab Natasha's car seat again, as well as the diaper bag and the backpack he was carrying.

"What's going on?" The man named Steve asked Anna.

"We don't have any rooms left and these people's car broke down. And you know how Andy is; their vehicle isn't going to be ready for a week, more maybe."

"And you don't know anybody in the area?" Steve asked Tony.

"No. We were on our way to go see our aunt, up in Canada. She's all we've got."

Steve felt horrible, these poor people. Tony walked out of the building, kids following him. Steve made a decision, not sure if he was even thinking, and set the papers down and picked his sister up. Then he ran out of the hotel, after the family.

"Wait!" He called. Tony turned around slightly. Steve ran up to him and set down Peggy. "Do you need a place to stay?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Well, yeah. This is the only town for miles and it's already getting late. Plus, you heard, our van needs to be fixed."

"Would you like to stay with me and my family? I mean, our house is pretty small and it will be even more crowded than it already is, but we can somehow make it work. If you want to, that is." Steve shifted his weight from foot to foot as he talked, and waited for a response.

"You would offer up a place in your house for a big family of complete strangers? Just like that, no questions asked? You don't even know my name!" Tony was shocked that anyone would trust someone they hadn't even formally met.

"Um, yeah. I mean, you seem like a nice guy and your kids must be tired-"

"They aren't my kids."

That stopped Steve. "… Huh?"

"They aren't my kids. They're my siblings."

"Oh! Oh, sorry. I understand, I'm raising my siblings too. For almost a year on my own now."

"Really? How many siblings do you have?"

"Seven. Peggy here is the youngest, she's two. The oldest, Erik, is nine. Does this mean you want to stay over?"

"If you'll take us and only if we won't be too much of a burden. I'd completely understand." Tony gave Steve one last chance to take back everything he'd offered up. He didn't know if he wanted him to take it back or not.

"My mom told me, before she died, that I needed to keep an open mind. I'm trusting you, that you aren't a crazy kidnapper who wants to murder me and my little siblings in our sleep." Tony cracked a grin.

"That's a little dramatic. I kill during breakfast." Steve laughed and Tony joined in, following Steve as he walked toward where he lived.

"My name is Steve Rogers," Steve stuck out his hand towards Tony. Tony looked at it for a moment before shifting the diaper bag onto his shoulder and sticking his out too.

"Tony Smith." Steve's much bigger hand met his and Tony felt a weird feeling run through his body. Kind of like a mix of butterflies and electricity. Judging by the way he pulled his hand away just as fast as Tony did, Steve felt it too. Tony looked down as they continued to walk. "So, where do you live, exactly?"

"The last house on the end of this block. It, I have to warn you, is a very small house. But my siblings are good at sharing and we have an old crib that your sister can sleep in. And we've got a couch and a bunch of sleeping bags. We can make it work, but it won't be as nice as you are probably used to."

"What makes you think we are used to something good?"

Steve blushed, "I don't know… I just… assumed you were better off. I'm sorry."

"We lost everything in a fire a month ago, including our parents. I was out with the kids… and we came home to nothing. To our neighbors offering a place to stay. We traveled from friend to friend….. We are on our way to meet our Aunt Claire up in Canada. She's the only family we have."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay. Most people don't understand the things I do… the decisions I make. It's the way it's always been. For as long as I can remember…. So, is this it?"

Steve hadn't even realized they were outside his house. "Yeah. Let's go inside, we can set up the sleeping arrangements. And we can all formally meet." He led Tony and his family into the house, Peggy ahead of him. "We're home! Can all of you come into the dining room for a minute?"

Soon, all of them were in the dining room. Steve and Tony both laughed on the inside when they saw all the kids line up on opposite sides of the room. They were sizing each other up. Analyzing every detail of each other.

"Guys, this is Tony Smith and his younger siblings. They are going to be staying here with us for a while. Why don't we all introduce ourselves with our first names and our ages? Let's have the guests go first." Steve looked at Tony.

"Okay, I'm Tony, as your brother said, and I'm twenty-nine." Tony looked at Thor.

"I'm Thor and I'm eleven." Thor boomed.

"I'm Loki and I'm nine." Loki said, rolling his eyes at Thor.

"I am Rhodey and I am eight." Rhodey proudly stated.

"I'm Phil and I'm seven." Phil was busy looking at his feet.

"My name is Bruce and I am six." Bruce informed, shyly.

"I'm Justin, I'm four." Justin was sulking, always in a bad mood.

"I'm Pepper, I'm three." Pepper whispered.

"I'm Darcy and I'm two, right Tony?" Tony laughed and nodded.

"And this is Natasha and she's three months old." Tony finished. "Your turn."

"Alright. I'm Steve and I am twenty-three." Steve looked at Erik.

"I am Erik and I am nine." Erik was busy looking at Tony's science T-shirt.

"I'm Maria and I'm seven." Phil looked up at little Maria.

"I'm Betty and I'm five."

"I'm Jane and I'm four."

"I'm Bucky and I'm three. He's my twin." Bucky pointed at Clint, who was playing with baby Natasha's foot.

"I'm Clint." was all that Clint said.

"And I'm Peggy! I'm, um…"

"Two," Steve supplied.

"Two!" Peggy held up three fingers. Tony laughed lightly at her cuteness.

~~Stony~~

"We only have three bedrooms, but we made the basement into two bedrooms a long time ago. Erik… he's a really smart kid, so smart we can't really understand him most times. But he moved into the garage when the twins were born. He wanted to, calls it his lab. I think it would be a good idea to put Darcy and Natasha in Peggy's room. Her bed is big enough for the two of them and I'll bring out the old crib for Natasha. Erik won't care; having people in his room, just… he might scare them."

"Oh, I think I know what you mean. I'm pretty smart, always have been and probably always will be, but so is my boy Brucie. Bruce is all into that science stuff. I'll bet he'd get along great with Erik."

"Okay… We can put Pepper in with Betty and Jane. Bucky and Clint… I have to apologize about them. I'm really sorry if they do anything to anyone, it's inevitable. They've been one in the same since birth, those troublemakers."

"Oh, they cause trouble, do they? I think Justin will get along great with them. He's the only one I worry about, causing trouble. I can throw some sanity in there and put Rhodey in the room, he is the only one who can deal with Justin."

"Okay, that leaves Thor and Loki and Phil, in with Maria. She has the biggest room of all the kids, it's my old room. You can share my room with me… or sleep on the couch. Whichever you are more comfortable with. My bed is big, so we wouldn't be right on top of each other, but I understand if you'd rather take the couch. Or, I can sleep on the couch and you can take my bed or share it with one of your siblings."

"No, no. I'll take the couch. I don't want you all to have to be too screwed up. I can handle a couple nights on the couch."

"Are you sure? Cause you're my guests and-"

"Your very intrusive, unwelcome guests. Trust me, this will keep me sane."

"Okay…"

~~Stony~~

They went around tucking all the kids in. Tony was right, Bruce got along great with Erik. Darcy and Peggy were quickly becoming best friends, and Pepper was getting along with Jane and Betty. Even stubborn Justin was getting along with Clint and Bucky. Phil had a clear fondness for Maria, and Loki and Thor were happy talking to anyone. Tony was getting to know Steve as well. He just couldn't help but like the man. He was nice and friendly and kind and caring. He was everything Tony wanted to be, and then some! He couldn't help but love Steve's contagious smile, and adore his laugh. He got lost in his baby blue eyes and wanted to run his fingers through his blonde hair, to see if it was as soft as it looked. He couldn't help but think that maybe he liked Steve a little more than he wanted to.

He couldn't like him, not like that. Every time the two touched each other in the slightest way, Tony felt that weird feeling from before. He couldn't help but wonder what was happening to him and what it was that he was feeling. And he didn't want to say goodnight and sleep on that couch when they were done saying goodnight to the kids. Not because the couch was uncomfortable, but because he wanted more than anything to sleep next to Steve. And, when he woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, fresh from a nightmare, he wanted to feel the warmth of Steve beside him. But he had no idea why.

Little did he know, Steve was feeling the same things.