A/N: HEYY GUYS! Sorry for the super long wait for an update but I actually got into the second year of my vet tech program! So I'm always doing book work or studying for some test or practical I have. I'm almost always thinking of ideas for my stories though, so I haven't forgotten you guys! As long as you can be patient with me, I will eventually get chapters out to you! Just bear with me and feel free to review!
This chapter is basically just to show some interactions between Ash as she grows up. It's basically a filler type chapter to get a little background on Ashlyn. Hopefully I can get things to pick up from this point on so stick with me! And forgive any mistakes there may be :D
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Tony, Steve, Bruce, Jarvis, etc etc etc...I did, however, make Ashlyn from the crazy thoughts in my mind.
Classical music floated throughout the living room. Tony was hunched over his work bench tinkering with his newest project while Bruce was walking around the room, gently rocking back and forth with Ashlyn nestled in his arms. He was humming along with the music as he tickled under her chin.
"Who's the most gorgeous little girl ever?" Bruce brought Ash closer to his face and gave her an Eskimo kiss causing her to elapse into a fit of giggles.
Ashlyn was about 6 months old now and Bruce couldn't get enough of her little laughs. He was almost always over at Tony's these days, however, Steve and Tony didn't seem to mind any. Tony had been working on his current project for quite a while now and Steve and been called off for something top secret a few weeks ago, so Bruce got the privilege of babysitting.
Tony groaned as he stood from his hunched over position. He stretched his arms upward causing his back to pop. "Ah man. It is definitely time for a break."
He looked around the room until his eyes landed on Bruce, who was holding Ash out in front of him. She was laughing and kicking her tiny feet as Bruce smiled up at her. Tony made his way over to the pair and stretched his arms outward, motioning for Bruce to hand over his daughter. "Alright Banner, hand over my girl. It's Daddy's turn."
Bruce frowned slightly but passed the happily squealing baby over to her father. Tony gently spun in a circle and laughed heartily as Ash squealed louder. As he gazed down at the most precious thing to him, he couldn't help but miss his partner. Ash had the same bright blue eyes and dirty blonde hair that Steve had. It was actually quite frightening at times. "Don't you worry baby girl. Dad will be back before you know it." He nuzzled his daughter and gave her a kiss on the forehead. The music continued to play in the background and as Tony rocked in place, Ashlyn quickly fell asleep. She was definitely an easy child. Tony wondered if that would continue into adulthood or if his daughter would be rebellious at some point.
Steve smiled down at his mini clone. Ashlyn was fast asleep in her crib, the little mobile above her head spinning slowly and playing a soft tune. He had just gotten back from his assignment and his first thought was of his daughter. Not even changing into regular clothes, he made a beeline for her room the moment he stepped through the door. Steve sighed. He didn't want to disturb her, so he would have to wait until the morning to hold his girl for the first time in a few weeks. As he turned to leave her room he came face to face with Tony. His arms were crossed and his eyebrow was cocked.
"We don't even get a phone call?" Tony hissed through his teeth, not wanting to wake up the baby.
Steve's face instantly contorted with guilt. "It was a top secret mission, Ton. You know I can't just pick up a phone! You know I would have called if I could!"
"Oh don't "Ton" me. You could have at least called and told me you were on your way home!"
Steve was now pushing Tony backwards out of the nursery. "You need to be quiet!" he hissed as he closed the door behind him with minimal noise.
Tony's eyes were narrowed as he stared back. He felt a ping of guilt, knowing that he should be welcoming Steve home instead of criticizing him, but Tony was pissed. He hadn't had a good night's rest since the day Steve left and that was around 4 weeks ago. Tony received no updates, no phone calls, not even a damn letter! He would never admit it out loud, but he had been worried out of his mind for his partner. "Don't tell me what to do. We have a daughter together Steve. What would I do without you?!" Tony's hands flew into the air before slamming back down against his side.
Steve sighed heavily and placed both of his hands on Tony's shoulders. Tony's face faltered from its angry expression as Steve began to place soft kisses on the side of his cheeks. "I truly am sorry, Tony, and I know you are upset with me." He cupped Tony's face in his hands and gave him huge smile. "But you have nothing to worry about. I will always, always, come home to you guys. You are my family and the reason I live and breathe. The reason I fight for a better world."
Tony's eyebrow slowly rose and his mouth twisted into a cocky grin. "That is the cheesiest thing I have ever heard." He knew Steve was telling the truth though and it did make him feel better. It also seemed to dissipate his anger because all Tony wanted to do now was take Steve and finally get some sleep. He grabbed Steve's hand and began to walk towards the bedroom. The blonde was still chuckling behind him and decided to wrap his arms around Tony's waist as they walked. When they got to the bedroom door, however, Tony stopped and turned around, pointing his finger in Steve's face. "You will take a shower and get into clean clothes before you step within three feet of my glorious bed. You hear me?"
Steve lost it and burst into laughter as he redirected himself to the bathroom. "I hear you, honey."
Tony's face contorted in disgust at the nickname. "You know I hate that!" Steve's laughter only got louder in response.
***TIME SKIP
Ashlyn was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the living room floor. Her small tongue was sticking out the side of her mouth as she fumbled with the Legos scattered out in front of her. She seemed to be building a castle of some sort with what appeared to be an arm coming off the side. "Jawvus?" her tiny voice filled the empty room.
"Yes, Miss Ashlyn?" Jarvis' voice instantly responded.
"Tell Dada come hewlp me." She was looking toward the ceiling as she spoke. Of course she was still too young, around 3 years of age now, to understand who or what Jarvis actually was, but that didn't stop her from constantly talking to him. Especially when no one else was around to stimulate her. Ashlyn did enjoy attention, just like any other young child.
"Certainly Miss." Jarvis confirmed as Ash dropped her head back down to the structure in front of her.
"Mr. Stark?"
Tony was sitting at his workbench in the basement. The room, besides the area at which he was working, was completely dark. Wires were strung all over the place and he appeared to be feeding them into some type of gloves or gauntlets. "What Jarvis? Kinda busy here." Tony's eyes never left the project laid out in front of him.
"Miss Ashlyn has requested your assistance in the living room."
Tony's head instantly shot up. "Well, why didn't you just say so?" he removed the bulky goggles from his eyes and sluggishly stood from his stool. His back popped loudly and he groaned as he tried to stretch out his sore body. "I must have lost track of time. How long have I been sitting there?"
"Around 3 hours, Sir."
"Shit." Tony shuffled up the stairs and made his way to the living room. As he stood in the doorway, a smile bloomed across his face. Ashlyn was humming to herself as her little hands worked quickly with the tools in front of her. She definitely inherited Tony's engineering skills. While she may have Steve's facial features, eye color, and hair color, she was a miniature Tony Stark through and through. Steve loved to point out how Ash would throw temper tantrums when she didn't get her way just like he tended to do, even though he would never admit that out loud.
"What's up, Baby girl?" Tony made his way over to his daughter and squatted down in front of her, his hands intertwined between his knees.
Ashlyn's crystal blue eyes shot up and her smile started at one ear and ended at the other. "DADA! Lookie what I did!" She held her project and shook it slightly to make sure Tony was paying attention to it. "It's our new home!"
Tony raised his eyebrow and flashed a cocky grin. "Is that so, darling?" He took the Lego building from her hands and turned it around to get a better look at it. He noticed the strange arm structure sticking from the side and looked back down at his daughter, whose eyes were sparkling. "And what's this here?"
Ash rolled her eyes and sighed. "Dada, that's Jawvus!" she crossed her arms and shook her head as if she couldn't believe Tony had just asked her that.
Tony's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Oh?" he was always surprised at how fast Ashlyn seemed to be growing. She already had almost perfect speech, her motor skills were amazing, and she could basically run through the house by now. "You know what, Baby girl?" Tony ruffled his hand through Ashlyn's long blonde hair and received a whine from her. "I'm gonna put this on the shelf over there so it stays intact forever." Tony nodded his head towards the large shelving that covered one side of the wall. It was where Tony placed small projects or awards he was particularly proud of.
Ashlyn's squeal echoed through the house and she jumped to her feet quickly to pull Tony over to the shelving. "Alwight Dada! Put it up there!" she jumped up and down and pointed at an empty spot.
As Tony placed the small structure onto the shelf, Ash giggled and tugged on his arm to get him to turn his attention back to her. "When Dad comes home, I wanna show him too!"
Tony laughed and nodded. He loved how he was "Dada" and Steve was just "Dad". "Alrighty, honey." He bent down and scooped Ash up into his arms. He gave her a squeeze and laughed when she began to squeal happily.
**TIME SKIP
"Dad! Dad!" Ashlyn came tumbling through the house with her math homework flying through the air.
Steve was sitting on the couch reading a book, but he raised his head and marked his spot before closing it. "What is it, Ash?"
Ashlyn crashed onto the couch beside him and curled her legs up under herself. She laid the paper down on Steve's lap and tapped it with her finger. "I need help, Dad. I don't get this stupid question." She crossed her arms and pouted. She was a very smart girl and was able to skip grade after grade, but when she was faced with something she didn't understand she got very frustrated quite quickly.
"Well, let's see what we've got here." Steve took the paper in his hands and studied it for a while before nodding and taking Ashlyn's pencil in his hand. He continued to show her what to do and helped her to understand why he did certain things
. Ash had her elbow rested on Steve's shoulder and her chin rested inside her palm as she listened to what Steve was teaching her. Every once in a while she would stop him with a "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" her hands waving in front of her, but after a while she was smiling and quietly completing the rest of the questions.
"These teachers have no idea what they're talking about, Dad. Why can't you just homeschool me?" Ash was leaning back on her hands as she sat in the floor, blinking up at the ceiling.
Steve chuckled in response as he resumed his reading. "Honey, I'm sure the teachers are doing just fine. Besides, you need somewhere to make new friends, right?"
Ashlyn's melodic laugh filled the room and caused Steve to smile wider. "Dad, I don't need friends. I would be just fine sitting here with you, Daddy and Jarvis."
Steve's eyebrow raised slightly but his eyes stayed on the book in front of him. "Ash, you say that now, but everyone needs at least one friend." He smiled down at his daughter and glanced at her from over the top of his book.
She was wearing the same cocky grin that Tony got when he knew he was right. Her lip pouted out slightly and her voice was laced with sarcasm. "Oh Alrighty Dad. Whatever you say." She stood from her position on the floor and gave Steve a kiss on the forehead. "Imma go back to my room. I'll talk to ya later."
"Alright, honey. Don't lose track of time like Tony always does." Ash's laugh filled the hallway as she disappeared back to her room.