Work Text:
Found Family
Funnily enough, life with 5 kids around instead of fully grown Avengers kind of adjusts itself over time. They get into a rhythm, learn how to approach things and what to avoid. It is very much a work in progress, but still a lot better than anyone would have thought before. And as it turns out very quickly, Thor would let them get away with murder while Phil, more often than not, is the designated holder of the single shared braincell.
Believe it or not, they do have a system. Mostly - there are hiccups still.
At least that is how it starts out. The more time goes on, the more the kids escape almost-disasters in their own household, the more concerned even Thor grows.
Usually, he loves the chaos and is always up for a fun time. But especially when one of the kids is in danger of getting hurt, he worries - human kids are a lot more breakable than asgardian children, and he is constantly reminded of it.
“I wonder what would happen if I put this into the microwave.” Steve wonders out loud one day, which, sadly enough, is not at all unusual for his 10-year old self in the 21st century.
Tony, who is solving a sudoku with Bruce on the kitchen table snorts and absentmindedly says,
“Sure, try it.”
But when a few seconds later, the sounds of clattering metal and the beeping of the microwave fill the room, he jumps up in a panic and yells,
“Wait, no! I was joking!”
which startles a series of movements from several different directions, with Tony and Bruce both making a mad leap for the plug to pull it out and Thor sprinting in from the other room, grabbing Steve to pull him away and shield him and the other children from a blast that, thankfully, doesn’t happen.
A sigh of relief comes from all of them. Only Steve, who hangs in the middle of the air held up by Thor, seems to be entirely unconcerned, although very much apologetic.
Half an hour later, Clint enters the kitchen with Natasha hanging off of his back. Both of them are to be covered in tiny pieces of paper, glue and glitter - no surprise there, since Nat loves crafting and she loves spending time with him. Clint, for his part, is happy enough to keep her company and help her build whatever it is she has set her mind on that day.
This, and climbing up the walls in the gym are amongst their favourite past times spent together. The only reason that he hasn’t taught her archery yet is simply the fact that they don’t have a bow small and light enough for her.
Secretly, everyone else agrees that this is probably a good thing, because these two as kids are just as inseparable as they are as adults, and who knows what would happen if Nat had a bow and arrow in her hands - she may be a tiny 6-year old, but it never serves well to underestimate her.
Right now though, she looks happy and peaceful, snuggled up on Clint’s shoulder while he is looking for snacks.
“Hey, I could heat up some Bagel Bites…” he starts out but stops in his tracks when a loud, unison choir of “NO!” interrupts him when he is about to touch the microwave.
“Jeez, guys. What’s the matter?”
“The microwave may or may not explode - Stuff happened. We didn’t plug it back in yet…”
“Aw, no…”
“Sorry!” Steve pipes up, shooting him a bright, innocent smile. He really is lucky he’s cute.
With a giggle, Natasha jumps off of the older boy’s back and scurries over to the table. She climbs onto a chair next to Steve and looks at him expectantly.
“What happened?”
As chaotic as most days are, they have slowly but surely grown together as a family. The fear and distrust from the kids has almost disappeared. Not completely - they’ve seen too much for that - but it’s about as good as it’s going to get for them, they figure. It surprises all of them, especially seeing the children slowly grow closer to the adults as well.
They have reached the point where some of them are okay with being touched by either Phil or Thor as well as the other kids. That wasn’t always the case.
Some kids have tried to avoid any kind of physical contact - especially Clint, and he’d made it clear that people would lose fingers if they’d try it. No one doubts that for a second - they would be stupid to.
He’ll let the other, younger kids pull on and climb all over him or let them use him as a pillow to snuggle with, no problem. But any adult who tried to come near him would be met with resistance if they were lucky, or with sharp objects if they were not.
Phil, Thor and Pepper never tried, making it clear that they wouldn’t do anything to hurt either of them, unintentionally or not. It works - the fact that he is willing to sit right next to either of them speaks volumes.
Natasha, for her part, is young enough to crave love and affection from a caregiver, but is already damaged enough to fear it. It’s painful to think of, and even though they’d known her file, and Phil especially knows her history, seeing the effects firsthand in the little girl just about breaks his heart.
For days and even weeks, Natasha would lurk in corners and doorways, as if hoping that no one would notice her while simultaneously wishing for someone to hug her, just this once.
Phil suspects that this might be one of the reasons she’d immediately stuck like glue to Clint. The fact that the two of them have always had a close bond is probably one of those reasons, since the kids display very similar relationships to each other as they are as adults. But Clint is the oldest of all the kids while also being young enough to not be threatening like adults are.
Phil carefully tries not to think too much about that, as well as the fact that Clint is providing something for the younger kids that he knows he rarely if ever had in his own life.
Bruce is heartbreakingly similar to these two: distrusting, afraid of getting hurt. He is slowly warming up though, and despite everything, he’s seeking out hugs from Thor on a regular basis now.
As huge and imposing as the god of thunder looks, he is much more gentle than that, and kids in general tend to love him. His age regressed teammates are no exception.
Tony, as mouthy and suspicious as he can be, at least knows from experience that not all adults suck. Sure, plenty of them do, like his Dad, but there are also people who are loving and kind, like his Mom, Edwin and Ana Jarvis or Auntie Peggy.
He is slowly warming up, if the way he is leaning against not only the other kids but also either Phil or Thor when they’re watching movies is something to go by.
Steve, luckily, is a ray of sunshine. He knows differently, despite all appearances, because his own father, from what they know, did not treat Sarah Rogers kindly. But he’s not as distrustful in general, and overall easy to get along with. That boy is trouble, sure, but never with malicious intent. He, too, trusts the adults relatively easily.
Dinner that night is a joyful event. They laugh and argue, just like any other family would, and it feels natural by now.
It’s days like this when Phil thinks that things aren’t nearly as bad as they could be. Sure, most of the Avengers are still kids, and there is no way to get a hold of Dr. Strange or anyone else who could be actually helpful in reversing this mess. But the kids are happy - they laugh and move freely, more or less trusting him and Thor to keep them safe.
It’s more than he would have wished for at first.
Early the next morning, however, Phil is about to rip his hair out again. It’s not even the kids fault - who would have guessed that it is a jar of ground coffee that is the culprit. It looks just like the other container, only it has a red lid.
Clint doesn’t think anything of it when he pours it into the coffee filter that morning, preparing half a pot for himself and Tony - just because they’re 12 and 14, doesn’t mean they’d walk through life with no caffeine. It’s a bit unsettling, really, but it’s nothing they didn’t expect with those two.
The problem?
Their regular coffee is in the jar with the green lid. This jar, however, is empty - no big deal, Clint thinks, there is a whole other jar of coffee grounds right there. Only, said jar with the red lid? It contains a devil's mixture that truly deserves its name, what with the threefold amount of caffeine in it.
Long story short, it is a near-miracle that neither of the two boys has a heart attack, although Phil might just be close to having one.
Usually, no one touches that specific brand of coffee, unless serious business arises, or if your name is either Tony, Bruce or Clint on any given day - if they’re adults, that is.
Phil himself is no stranger to living off of nothing but coffee and willpower either, but even he would have to pass if this stuff was his everyday beverage. Nope. No way.
Later that day, Tony and Clint are trying to run off some energy and literally climb the walls in the gym. Phil is on one of the benches, filing paperwork while keeping an eye on the two over caffeinated boys.
It probably says something, about their state, that Thor is very much concerned about them, rambling with worry for several minutes straight and then interrupting himself with,
“Odin's beard, I’m starting to sound like Phil.”
“Hey! That is not a bad thing I’ll have you know!” the man in question calls back from the stove - part of him hopes that a hearty breakfast might help, at least a little bit.
The coffee jar with the red lid miraculously disappears out of the kitchen that day - Phil locks it into a cupboard in his office, just to be sure. He’ll happily hand it back when all residents of the tower are legal adults again and know what the hell they’re getting themselves into. Until then, he’ll keep it just where it is. There is no need for another incident.
For now, Tony and Clint run circles in the gym, Natahsa has joined them just for fun and Steve is hanging out with Bruce on the side - they don’t talk much, since both of them are busy reading books, but it is a comfortable silence. The two of them get along well, and at least with books, they can’t hurt themselves.
Thor arrives later, bringing a tupperware container with him.
After spending so much time here on midgard, he picked up a habit or two. Stress-baking being one of them - he passes cookies to everyone, sitting down on the bench in between Phil and the quietest two of the kids. Bruce looks up when the container of cookies appears in front of him, and he happily takes two, handing one over to Steve.
Then, he scoots closer to Thor, leaning against his arm as he finds a new, comfortable reading position.
*+~
22 - Shielding