Thanks to Sailorraven34 and the Guest who reviewed. Here's the vacation chapter! Please enjoy :)
Tony agreed to the Coney island trip only because he agreed that one of them should stay in the city and it was the only way to keep someone there and not leave anyone out. They planned the trip for two days from the decision, it would leave a few days free to check off whatever else on Natasha's list they could.
On the selected day Steve got Natasha up early so they could load up and get a spot close to the beach. As it was it was the end of summer and a business day so they could count on the crowds being thin. Bruce pointed this out while the others hurried to get ready.
As it turned out , getting up early was a wise choice anyway because while several people had bathing suits they had to swing by a store and get suits for Thor and Bruce. After that they had to double back because Clint had forgotten his suit which turned out to be a lie and he just wanted to grab his snorkel. After that the mood in the van was grumpy and argumentative. Tony was mad Clint had lied about the suit just to get his snorkel and Steve was annoyed that Tony wouldn't drop it and Clint was angry that he had been caught. By the time they reached the parking lot Natasha was buzzing with excitement and the others were worn out already.
Thor carried most of their things down to the beach which as Bruce had predicted was sparsely populated. They set up and while Tony made fun of Clint for his snorkel, Natasha crept towards the water. She had never seen such a wide expanse of water before. It was amazing to look at.
She dipped her toes into the water and was delighted. The sand melted beneath her feel and the waved lapped around her ankles. It tickled and it made her laugh a little. She jumped up and came back down making the water splash and then took a few ore steps forward.
She looked back at where the others were settled. Clint was headed towards her and Steve was watching people on the board walk. She smiled a little as Clint jumped in next to her. "How's the water?" He asked, causing a large splash.
She smiled. "Very nice."
He stood for a minute and laughed. "Could be a little warmer."
She didn't think so but then she was used to cold places. She went in a little deeper and he joined her. They floated around, staying where she could touch the bottom. She tried to remind him that she was a good swimmer but he just shrugged and said yelled for someone on the beach to toss him a ball. Thor obliged and waved jovially. She waved back, happily enjoying herself.
They tossed the ball back and forth for a while, laughing. Eventually Thor came and joined them in the water. On the beach a couple of kids were standing near by talking in loud whispers, trying to decide if it was really Captain America sitting in a folding chair drinking a coke.
After a few hours they took a break from swimming and sat down for a while. Thor continued swimming and Steve joined him. Natasha sat on a towel and drank a juice box while watching the other swimmers. Around her the others were talking animatedly. Clint was digging through a picnic basket for a sandwich and Bruce and Tony were making plans for going up to the board walk.
Natasha was very happy. She had only ever seen pictures of the ocean but this was so much better. It was warm and sandy and she loved the water. She couldn't get enough of the water. After a few moments of people watching Bruce caught her attention and drew a bucket and plastic shovel out of their picnic basket.
"Have you ever made a sand castle?"
She looked at him curiously. "No."
He smiled a little and handed her a second shovel. "Help me fill up the bucket." She did so and then watched with interest as packed it and turned the bucket over. It formed a slightly crumbling tower. She helped him make a second and then they molded a square between them. When they were done he smiled and waved a hand over it. "You just made a sand castle. You want to try making one on your own?"
Delighted at this new activity she made several more and then made several stand alone towers.
"You gotta make a moat around your biggest one." Tony said, picking up a shovel and making a trench around the largest castle. "Hurry and get some water before the rebels invade!"
With excitement she ran and filled up the bucket in the ocean and came back. Tony grinned. "Fill up the moat." Once that was done she sat back to view her medieval village. Tony had made several smaller lumps of sand and said they were village houses because she had to have someone to rule over.
"That's a pretty nice kingdom." Steve said, sitting down in his chair.
"Verily I am impressed by the majesty of your domain." Thor said, nodding approvingly.
She beamed and sat back, playing wither her bucket and shovel for a while more before heading back into the water. Steve joined her and they floated around for a while, avoiding the waves and chasing them. She liked jumping into them and being pushed back. Steve, like Clint made sure she didn't go too far out. She would have liked to tell him that she was a strong swimmer but part of her knew that it was probably for the best.
After a while more she grew tired and they headed up to the boardwalk to look around. There were carnival games and little shops lining the way and a big Ferris Wheel in the distance. Steve compared the similarities to the Coney Island of his youth as he walked. Next to him, Natasha was turning her head from side to side, unable to chose what to look at. She had the ocean in one direction and the colorful kiosks in the other.
Tony was talking quickly, asking her if anything caught her fancy and then somehow talking over himself whenever he became distracted by something that caught his. He ended up buying them ice cream from one of the vendors and they wandered along eating it and watching the people around them.
It was a lovely day. The sun was out and it was warm but not overbearingly so. The boardwalk, like the beach was sparsely populated. Most people were still at work and the season for summer tourism was winding down.
Bruce kept a look out for a merry-go-round for her. Clint had said it was on her list. She hadn't mentioned it but he had noticed her eyes darting towards the carnival rides. Once they had finished their ice cream he asked her if she wanted to go on any. She nodded tentatively, eyes going to the lights in the distance.
Clint elbowed her as he spotted the merry-go-round they were searching for. "Hey, look at that. Two birds, one stone." He said with a grin.
She looked at him curiously. "What does that mean?"
He paused and laughed. "Means we can cross two things off your list. Go get in line."
As luck would have it there were only a few children waiting to get on and Natasha didn't have to wait long.
From their view on the side lines the others watched her. She seemed to like the different horses and the lights. Tony snapped a few pictures on his phone.
Up on the carousel Natasha watched the people around her spin. She liked it. The ride played old fashioned music that sounded candied and rather silly but she liked it just as much. She had never been on a horse before and the sudden thought came that she should add it to her list. When the ride was over she climbed down and joined the others.
Although the ride hadn't been extremely fast she felt winded and flushed with excitement. The others laughed and Tony showed her a picture of her riding the carousel on her phone. She studied it for a long moment. In the picture she was looking outwards and her face was open and bright. After a moment she looked up. "Can you make me a copy?" She asked.
He frowned at the simplicity of the request. "I can make you ten thousand copies if you want."
She laughed. "One will be okay."
They walked on for a while more and Natasha got a balloon and a hot dog that she wasn't quite so fond of and gave to Steve to finish. By the time the sun began to set Tony had delegated six emergencies to various superheroes around the city and Natasha had gone on three more rides. Clint had even won her a stuffed bear which she liked immensely.
By the time they had arrived home She was almost asleep and Steve had to help her up to her room where she promptly dropped off to sleep.
He smiled a little as he picked up her shoes and folded up her clothes. She had the bear under one arm and her doll under the other. She probably should have taken a shower but it wasn't really important. He closed the door as quietly as he could.
I hoe you guys liked this chapter, the story is winding down to the end and probably will only have three to four more chapters, maybe even five if it gets dragged out. And just like when I finished Learning to Fly (the one where CLint gets turned into a kid) I'm always open to suggestions. If you ask I'll probably try it and if I feel like I'm able to write it then it'll get posted! Not a promise but I at least give it my best shot (write a few paragraphs) before deciding weather or not I'm going to write the story. If anyone has any suggestions about what they'd like to see next I'd love to hear them. I know I've written two deaged fics already but I'd love to do another! Srsly, It's one of my favorite kinds to read, provided that it's not off the wall, and I can never find enough of them! I'm open to suggestions that aren't comic related too, but that one's a little iffy because I may not know the topic. Oh well, thanks for reading!
The next chapter should be up soon.