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"Daddy," Peter said excitedly, pulling on his arm the moment he walked in the door, "Daddy, daddy."
"Hey, bud," Tony smiled, picking him up easily in one arm, "How was your day?"
"Good," Peter said, practically crawling over him as he got himself situated, wrapping his arms around Tony's neck, "Pops said I could have a sleepover!"
Tony glanced over at where Steve was sitting in front of the couch. His husband was surrounded by yet another pile of SHIELD paperwork, his back rested on the couch as he had the papers scattered all over the table.
He swore Fury sent him more paperwork as revenge for being "part-time" Avengers.
Part-time meaning that if they couldn't find a sitter for Peter and someone else could handle whatever they needed them for, they wouldn't show up.
Tony saw a smile on his face specially made for "I'm up to something Tony won't like but I did it anyways."
He really, really didn't like that smile.
"A sleepover?" Tony asked, trying to sound excited as he looked at Peter, "Wow, that sounds like something your pops and I should talk about before he tells you something like that. But looks like he told you anyways so now you have to have one!" he said in an overly happy voice, "How many people did your pops say you could invite?"
"As many as I want!" Peter chirped, "I'm gonna invite everyone!"
"Want to narrow it down a little, kiddo?" Tony asked, trying to keep his tone as happy and not glare a hole into the back of his husband's blond head.
"Um...'kay," Peter said, thinking, "Wade, of course."
"Of course," Tony said, gritting his teeth. He really didn't like that kid.
"Hm..." he trailed off, obviously thinking, "Pie, Scottie...and Scottie's brother because he won't let Scottie come without him..." Peter explained, "And Harry!" he said happily.
"Sounds great," Tony smiled, "You want to run over and ask if they can?"
Peter nodded quickly, "Can you call Harry's daddy?"
"Of course," Tony said, giving him a tight smile as his son ran out the back door. He walked over and looked down at Steve.
"Hi, Tony," Steve gave him his best innocent smile.
"Why?" Tony groaned, flopping down on the couch, "Why, Steve?"
"It sounded...fun?" Steve tried.
"No, 'fun' is sending him to someone else's house and getting some well deserved Steve-Tony time," Tony said up, pointing at him, "'Fun' is not inviting a group of kids to our house to terrorize us for the entire night. None of them will sleep, Wade is loud and annoying and trying to jump our son-"
"Tony, he's seven. It's completely innocent-" Steve started.
"-and they're annoying. Alex is going to glare at anyone who just breaths in his brother's general direction, Harry is a royal little brat, and Pietro will blow all of your precious papers into the air the moment he runs-" he started.
"DADDY!" Peter yelled, running through the backdoor.
They both looked up and saw tears in Peter's eyes.
"What the f- hell- heck?" Tony corrected himself, running over to Peter and picking him up, "Pete, what happened?"
"I-I asked like you t-told me to a-and-" Peter took a deep breath, trying to stop himself from crying, "Mr. Erik said n-no and told me to go a-away!" he said before bursting into tears.
Okay, now...normally Tony wouldn't freak out. Personally, he told Wade to go away all the time. The kid annoyed him. But Peter wasn't annoying. He was ridiculously polite and was probably extremely polite when he asked Erik, he always was.
"You," Tony planted Peter on the couch, "Stay with your pops. I'll go talk to him."
"O-Okay," Peter sniffled.
Tony marched out the front door and walked over, pounding on the door with his fist.
No one made his baby cry.
Erik opened the door, "Can I help you?" he demanded.
"You upset my kid," Tony pointed at him, "Where's Charles?"
"He has a job, you know," Erik said, looking in and glancing at the clock on the wall, "It's also finals week. He has papers to grade. Call later. If you'll excuse me-"
"No, I will not excuse you," Tony sneered, "My son came over and I'm sure he very politely asked you if a few of your kids could stay the night. I don't think it's too much to ask-"
"Yes, it is," Erik cut him off, "They aren't going anywhere."
"We're right next door," Tony gestured to their large house, "I'm pretty sure at this point we're pretty trustworthy considering we're literally superheros. I don't see what the big issue is-"
"My big issue is that not even a month ago, someone tried to come into my home and take my son for the second time," Erik growled, "He is petrified and he won't even go to school. We've had to start homeschooling him. He is not leaving my sight."
"So you think keeping him in your sight for the rest of his life will make this better?" Tony demanded, "Lehnsherr, Stryker is in SHIELD custody and we're monitoring the case. There's nothing to worry about-"
"You don't understand," Erik snapped, "I couldn't expect anymore from a human though. Damn neanderthals, all of you-"
"One; don't call me a neanderthal. I am a registered genius who graduated MIT at nineteen," he snapped. He took a deep breath, "Two; just...help me understand."
Granted, he understood a little bit. He'd glanced over Pietro's files when he had the chance before he turned over Stryker's phone and he couldn't imagine losing Peter like they had lost Pietro.
But Pietro had to have freedom and Erik needed to trust them.
Erik sighed, glancing back in the doorway. He walked over and called up the steps, "Darwin!"
"Yeah?" the boy called from upstairs.
"Come down here and make sure Pietro does his homework, I have to have a talk with someone!" Erik called.
"Are you gonna throw down?!" Wade yelled from somewhere in the house.
"No, Wade," Erik snapped, "Shut up," he added before walking outside. He gestured to one of the chairs on the porch, "Sit," he said simply.
Tony sat down glancing over at his own house as he did.
"What exactly do you want to know?" Erik demanded, sitting down slowly in another chair, sighing as he kicked some of the children's toys out of the way. He narrowed his eyes, "Actually, don't answer that. Just shut up and listen, Stark. You'll understand why he can't be out of my sight."
July 18, 2014
"All of the children are in bed and accounted for," Erik announced proudly, lying down in bed with his husband, "I told you we could get along without Logan. Let's just kick him out-"
Charles rolled his eyes, "I do not understand your hatred for my friend. Besides, the children love him and Wade. They're going to be a part of our lives until we grow old."
"Wonderful," Erik grumbled.
Charles laughed quietly, "He'll be back tomorrow. He just had a meeting with an old friend," he explained.
Erik hummed, obviously not thinking about him. He leaned over and kissed Charles, "Put the book away or I'll be forced to throw it out the window. It's time for bed."
Charles rolled his eyes and marked his page with a bookmark Angel had made him. It was a mess of markers that typically left stains on the pages, but he wouldn't trade it for the world. He shut the book and put it on the table beside their bed and turned the lamp off. He moved himself to lay down.
"Got it?" Erik asked, already lying down as well.
"Yes, I have it," Charles said, pushing himself slowly into a comfortable position.
"I can help-" Erik started.
"No, I have it," Charles got situated and smiled at Erik, "Goodnight, Erik."
"Goodnight, Charles," Erik smiled softly at him.
"WAKE UP!" Erik woke up to Wade screaming in the hallways.
"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" Wade continued to yell, pounding on all the doors and even the wall as he tried to wake up the entire house.
Erik looked over and saw Charles was already getting himself into his chair and sighed, "Charles, here-"
"I have it, go check on Wade," Charles said, waving him off quickly.
Erik sighed and swung open the door, "Wade! What the hell is going on?!"
"I can't find Pie!" Wade said quickly, "H-He's gone. I looked everywhere!"
Erik felt fear fill him. He felt like his heart stopped. His son was gone?
"What do you mean?" Erik demanded, "He can't just disappear!"
Wade gestured for him to walk out, "C'mon!"
"He has silver hair," Charles said quickly, talking to the police officers that were now in their house, "H-He has brown eyes. Damn it, Erik, where's a picture-"
Erik took the photo out of his wallet...one among many, "This is his school picture from last year," he said quickly, handing them the small photo. He'd had to give Pietro a long lecture the day they took it and warned him to not make any silly faces just for once in that picture.
"Mutant?" one of the men asked, looking down at the picture.
Erik tried not to get angry, "Yes, not that it matters. Our son is missing. He's never ran off like this before."
"Charles?!" Logan called as he walked in the open door. He ran in, "Why the hell are there cops swarming this place?" he demanded, looking around. He sighed in relief when he saw Wade in the kitchen with the other children.
"Pietro has gone missing," Charles said softly.
"When was the last time you saw him?" Officer Stacy asked, writing things down.
"Last night, just after I tucked him into bed," Erik whispered, "It was his birthday yesterday..." he trailed off.
"Are you going to find my brother?!" Wanda demanded, running in. Her brown hair was still in a scattered mess and she was still in her pink pajamas. They hadn't had time to get any of the children dressed or ready for the day. Thankfully it was a Saturday in the summer and not a school day.
"I'll do everything I can," George said softly, "I promise you."
Days passed. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into a month.
Erik felt sick. He felt hallow. The children weren't much better. They desperately missed their brother and some of them were too young to even grasp the concept of what was going on. All Wanda knew was that someone that felt like he was the other half of her was missing. Wade was...angry. Erik had never seen him so angry about something. Normally the boy was so playful but he was just a walking ball of anger anymore. Logan had given up on grounding the boy when he acted out after one episode.
It was in August, right before school started. Logan was trying to get clothes set out for the kids to wear to their first day and Wade just started screaming at the top of his lungs. Wade hadn't even started school and he didn't have to yet, he started next year. He punched Logan's chest and kicked at him when he tried to calm him down. Logan finally yelled (which he hardly ever did to his son) and demanded to know what the hell was the matter with him. Wade had burst into tears in front of everyone who had came running into the room when they heard the commotion. Wade started sobbing and saying it wasn't fair that people were just moving on when Pietro was missing.
Erik felt something break inside him that day. He understood Wade...he felt like the world was just moving on when his son was gone and that wasn't fair. It felt like they'd given up after only a month.
Erik wanted to turn into his old self again. He wanted to destroy places to find his son. But he couldn't do that. He couldn't turn into Magneto again because he had other children who relied on him.
That didn't change his feelings on it though.
Charles was no better. If the kids weren't in the room, he was crying. His eyes were constantly bloodshot and he was constantly with Logan, looking for leads on Pietro.
They never found any.
Another month passed...then another.
George Stacy came to their door himself and told them that they would always keep the case open, but they couldn't keep sending search parties out. Charles had went to slam the door in his face but Wanda had been around. She heard what George had said. She started yelling at him and crying that he promised! He promised he'd find him!
George was at a loss. Despite having a daughter of his own, he had no idea how to deal with this. This was a little girl who had lost her brother.
Charles didn't have the heart to be angry at the man after that. Angry at the world? Yes. He was angry at the world.
Thanksgiving didn't happen that year. No one was really up to any celebrations, despite it usually being a huge event in their house. Erik didn't seem to like the holiday at all, but the children loved it. They always did it.
Wade became depressed and got nightmares without his friend. He missed him desperately, just like the others did. But Wade and Wanda were the worst about it.
Wade just laid in his room and didn't do anything except try to punch holes in the wall, which Logan fixed without a word, only to have Wade punching it again the next day
Wanda constantly cried and had nightmares, screaming for Pietro. She wanted her brother back.
The swing set in their backyard was unused. It hadn't been used in a long time. Their entire house felt gloomy all the time and no one smiled anymore.
The Xavier house always celebrated two holidays in the winter: Christmas and Hanukkah. It wasn't what most families did and a few soccer moms had the nerve to look down on them but it was Erik's tradition and Charles' tradition combined for their children.
Erik sat with Wanda in the living room, watching their candles.
"Tomorrow is the last day," she whispered, looking at the last candle that was flickering.
"Yes," Erik said, quiet too. He cleared his throat, "Wanda...I know you don't feel like celebrating this year, so thank you for doing this with me."
Wanda gave him a small smile, "Tradition, daddy."
"Come here," Erik sighed.
Wanda ran over to his chair quickly and hopped in his lap, snuggling her head under his chin and giving him a faceful of messy hair in the process. Erik didn't move her or tell her to move, he just held her and closed his eyes, willing himself not to cry. He hadn't seen his daughter smile in months and just a small one felt like a blessing.
"Do you think Pie will be back in time?" Wanda whispered, "O-Or maybe to see Santa?"
"I hope so, darling," Erik whispered, rubbing her shoulder. He didn't have much hope at this point, but he always hoped one day he'd just get some news or something that helped him find his son-
Logan burst in suddenly, a cold gust of wind following him and blowing the candle out.
"Damn it, Logan," Erik growled under his breath.
Logan came in, covered in snow with a scarf around his neck, "Get Charles in here, we need to talk."
"Wanda, off to bed," Erik said softly, putting her on her feet, "One of us will be up to tuck you in soon."
Wanda nodded, looking confused before running upstairs.
"There's a lead," Logan said quickly, "There's been a few mutants going missing and someone traced it back to a place called Alkali Lake," he explained, "It's worth a shot."
Erik gnawed on his lip, "Charles, Logan and I will go."
"Take the jet," Charles said quickly.
"Charles, that thing is not stable," Erik said quickly, "It's old and we barely knew the guy who owned it before us-"
"Just take it, Erik," Charles said quickly, "It's worth a shot. We'll take anything we can get at this point."
"Sir, we can't let you take off without a trained pilot," the woman at the desk said, "Your family may own the plane, but it's a security risk-"
"We own the damn plane and we'll take off if we want to," Erik snapped.
"Excuse me," a man said suddenly, "Did you say you needed a pilot?"
"Who the hell are you?" Logan demanded, "Didn't your mom tell you not to eavesdrop?"
"No," the man said simply. He sighed, "Look, you people sound desperate. I have my pilot's license."
"Howard, what are you doing?" a man with blond hair asked, holding a small boy in his arms, "We need to get back. Tony is going to get annoyed and we still have to decorate the tree."
Erik looked over the man. He was wearing a hoodie along with a hat and glasses on, along with a heavy, blue winter coat over it the hoodie. The boy had on one of those toboggans they sold in gift shops with the Captain America shield symbol on it along with a matching blue winter coat. The man looked vaguely familiar, but he'd have to figure it out another time. He didn't care right now. He had to find a way to get there as soon as possible.
"Go sit down with Peter," Howard waved him off quickly.
The man glared and went to sit down, holding the toddler close to him.
"Where exactly are you going?" Howard asked.
"We're going to a place up in Canada," Logan said, keeping it vague, "It's an emergency."
"What kind of emergency?" Howard asked.
Erik gritted his teeth, "My son has been missing for months and your system has done nothing!" he snapped, surprising everyone, "We have a lead and we can't get there."
"Whoa," Howard said, shock taking over his features. He quickly shook it off, "Just let me call a ride for my son in-law and grandson and I'll take you."
"Excuse me?" Erik demanded.
"You heard me," Howard said, taking out his cell phone as he walked back over to the blond man who was obviously hiding his face.
"We're seriously going to do this?" Logan growled.
"He has a pilot's license," Erik said seriously, "And I want my son back."
"So," Howard called from the front of the jet as he flew it, "What's your names?"
"I'm Logan," Logan called, "And this is Erik."
"So, your son," Howard called, "He's been missing for how long?"
"Since July," Erik growled.
"Huh," Howard said, "Well, my friend, I hope you find him. It's almost Christmas, after all."
"I just want my damn son back," Erik snapped.
"Can you bring this thing down?" Logan asked, running down, "You can't exactly land it on the water."
"I have it," Howard said, "This is pretty advanced technology for a jet that wasn't made by Stark Industries. I'd love to study it sometime-"
"Shut up and land the goddamn plane, bub," Logan snapped.
Howard managed to lower the plane with a little difficulty. They made it to the ground, either way, despite almost crashing. He turned to look at them, "So did you want me to-" he cut himself off when he saw the two had already disappeared and the door was open, "...stay here?"
"This is it," Logan told him as they approached the opening.
Erik nodded, looking at the main doors. He saw the camera pointing at them and flicked his hand, the cameras instantly going the other way. He looked at Logan, "Anyone gets in our way and-"
"I'll take care of them," Logan nodded, "You do all the metal bending, bub, I got the violent part handled," he said, flicking out his claws.
Erik took a deep breath and nodded. He raised his hand and the metal doors pried open.
Erik tried to ignore the blood that had spattered on his shoes and pants. Logan had spilled a lot of blood and seemed completely unphased by it. He would worry about that later.
Right now...
"Son of a bitch," Logan murmured as they came into the room. Tons of mutants were in cages around them. He flicked his metal claws out and slashed through the locks on most of them easily and growled, "You're free to go, just follow the blood."
"Is that Magneto?" one of the mutants murmured.
"Just keep walking," Logan snapped, continuing to cut through the cages until he got to the end where Erik was standing.
The metal surrounding them started to rattle and Logan saw the angry look on the man's face.
"He isn't here," Erik growled, "Why isn't he here?"
"There's still more rooms," Logan said, "There has to be. Look," he said running over to the door. He pulled on it as hard as he could and the door swung open.
"What is this place?" Erik murmured as they walked into a white room.
"Dunno," Logan said, looking around. He froze when he saw a bloody spot on the wall. The brightness of the room made it stand out even more. He heard a faint heartbeat and whipped around. He let out a relieved noise that was a mix of a laugh and cry when he saw Pietro in the corner of the room.
Erik turned around and looked, his eyes wide. He kneeled down quickly, practically falling to his knees when he saw him.
Pietro flinched back slightly before his brown eyes widened under his silver hair, "Daddy?" he choked out.
"Pietro," Erik breathed out, "It's me, I'm here."
Pietro latched onto him instantly, hugging him as tightly as his little arms would let him. He let out a sob, holding onto him tightly, "Daddy."
"Shh," Erik shushed him, rocking him back and forth, "You're okay. Daddy's here," he whispered, holding onto him. His son's hair had grown out and was in his eyes now, he was so skinny, and there were cuts on his arms and legs. He had tiny dark circles under his eyes and he was paler than usually.
"We need to get out of here," Logan growled when the alarms started to go off.
"Hey, welcome back!" Howard called as they got on the jet. His eyes widened when he saw Pietro in Erik's arms, "Whoa, does he need medical attention? Should I fly him to a hospital?" he asked quickly.
"Just get us back to the airport," Erik snapped at him.
"Sir, yes, sir," Howard saluted him, "Hey, do I know you from somewhere-"
"Eyes on the sky," Logan snapped at him.
Logan watched as Erik put Pietro in the car at the airport and looked over at Howard, "Thanks," he said awkwardly, "I'm pretty sure we would have crashed the thing."
"No problem," Howard said, taking out his phone along with a card. He chuckled, handing him the card that said HOWARD STARK along with a business contact number, "Oh, I have an angry son in-law on my hands," he waved at him, "Give me a call next time you need a pilot. I missed doing that."
"Yeah, whatever," Logan grunted, walking over and getting in the driver's seat. He glanced back at where Erik was holding Pietro in the backseat as the boy slept peacefully. He started the car and started driving, looking back again, "He going to be okay?"
Erik nodded slowly, "It just looks like...they cut him," he whispered, "He's malnourished. I'd take him to the hospital, but..."
"He'd just heal before you could, I know," Logan finished, nodding, "I get it. We'll take care of him."
Charles sat with Pietro in his lap.
"Missed you, papa," Pietro mumbled against his shoulder. The crying had finally subsided from everyone. Charles immediately started crying when he saw him which caused Pietro to cry which caused Erik to shed a few tears.
"I missed you too," Charles said, carding his fingers through his hair to calm him down, "Someone needs a hair cut."
Pietro looked at him with wide eyes, "You have to do it!" he said quickly.
Charles just nodded, doing his best to keep him calm. He wasn't about to start pressing the poor boy with any questions right now. He could read his mind later, if he had to. He would usually let the children tell him things on their own, but he needed to figure out what Pietro needed and what they did to him.
"Okay, I'll do it tomorrow," Charles agreed.
He really hoped he didn't butcher his hair. He didn't exactly know what he was doing.
"Where's daddy?" Pietro asked, looking around quickly.
"He just went upstairs to check on the others," Charles explained softly, "They should be waking up soon."
"Did I miss the first day of school?" Pietro asked, his eyes half lidded as he stared up at Charles. His hand was messing with Charles' purple shirt but he didn't look away from him.
"Yes, you did," Charles told him softly.
"I wanted to see them go," Pietro sighed and went silent for a moment before talking again, "Why's the tree up?"
Charles pursed his lips, "It's Christmas Eve, Pietro."
Pietro looked at him with wide eyes, "Nu-uh, it's July."
"No, December," Charles explained, "You've been gone a long time."
Pietro sniffled, "I missed you," he repeated, burying his head in his chest.
Charles kissed his head softly, "I missed you too."
Erik came back down a few moments later and checked the clock. It was nine in the morning on Christmas Eve. Their son was home. He looked over and saw Charles was asleep in his chair with Pietro still in his lap. It would be hell on Charles' neck when he woke up but he was pretty sure Charles would give him hell if he woke him up now.
Erik slipped into the kitchen and decided to actually cook breakfast for once. It would help them get together first thing and they could all sit down. Then he'd tell them that Pietro was back.
Erik stared at the box of pancake mix before turning around. He saw Logan sitting on the back porch, smoking a cigar. He quickly opened the door, "Come help me make pancakes."
"I still think it might be better not to give him too many solids yet," Charles explained as Erik set the table, "It's probably best to give him soup and orange juice. He might get sick, Erik."
"I want pancakes," Pietro mumbled, leaning in the doorway.
"Oh!" Erik said in shock. He ran over and picked Pietro up quickly when his son looked like he was going to collapse, "You should have called when you woke up, Pietro," he explained.
They'd put him down for a nap on the couch (slowly, so they didn't wake him up) when Charles came out to the kitchen.
"Sorry," Pietro mumbled against his shoulder, still half asleep.
"You can have one pancake," Charles explained, "We just don't want you to get sick, Pietro. You have to drink all your orange juice too."
"'Kay," Pietro mumbled, looking exhausted.
"Hey, what was all that noise-" Wade walked in and froze, staring at Pietro.
"Wade-" Logan started.
"GUYS!" Wade yelled, running upstairs.
Charles sighed as he listened to Wade pound on all the doors. He froze momentarily when each pound on the door made Pietro jump. He quickly pressed two fingers to the side of his head, "Wade, stop being so loud, you're scaring Pietro."
The noise instantly stopped and a few moments later, they hear children running down the stairs.
"PIE!" Wanda screamed the moment she saw him. She launched herself against him and burst into tears.
Pietro started crying as well, getting off the chair so they could hug easier.
The twins collapsed on the ground, hugging each other tightly.
"Wanda," Pietro whimpered, holding onto her tightly as tears streamed down his pale cheeks. He held onto her as tightly as he possibly could, sobbing against her shoulder.
Erik was at a loss of what to do. The other children seemed shocked, watching the two twins and a few of them were crying as well, especially Wade.
Angel fell down on the floor and joined their little hug and Wade did the same, hugging Pietro from behind. Wade buried his face in Pietro's shoulder and snickered, "You smell."
"I need a shower," Pietro said simply, "Sorry."
"Don't care," Wade mumbled, still hugging him, "Missed you, Pie."
Sean slowly sat down, pulling Darwin down with him. He squeezed his way in and wrapped his arms around Pietro as well and Darwin followed. Hank hugged around the group, closing his eyes tightly as he did.
Erik put his head on the counter to hide his tears from their little family. It was sight he'd wanted for months, his family together again.
They were safe again.
Tony had tears in his eyes as Erik finished the story, just the thought of the kids on the floor and hugging bringing tears to his eyes alone.
"So you can understand my hesitance," Erik said, his voice hoarse, "I finally got him back in school and healthy again...and then they just show up at our home to try to take him and possibly the others."
Tony nodded slowly and sighed, "I'm sorry for what you went through," he said quietly, "But you can't keep them locked up forever. Think of letting him come as a small step. We'll be right next door."
Erik took a deep breath and shook his head, "It doesn't work like that-" he was cut off when their van pulled up.
Erik cleared his throat, "Excuse me," he said quietly, going down the porch steps quickly. He went to the van and got Charles' wheelchair from the back with the help of Logan when he got slightly frustrated with it.
Tony watched as Erik slowly helped Charles from the passenger seat of the van and into his chair. He seemed to be used to it at this point, yet he was so careful with him.
"Mr. Stark," Charles said as Erik pushed his chair up the ramp on the side of the porch, "What are you doing here?"
"He was just leaving," Erik said quickly.
Tony glanced over at Erik, "I actually came over to ask if a few of your kids would like to have a sleepover with Peter. We'll watch them the entire time and we have a pretty good security system. I designed it myself."
"You underhanded little-" Erik started under his breath.
"That sounds wonderful," Charles smiled, "I'm sure they would love that."
"Charles-" Erik started.
"Erik, we can trust them," Charles smiled.
"Uh...Pete wants Wade, Scott, Alex, and Pietro," Tony explained, "The only other kid that will be there is Harry and they all get along, from what I can tell."
Charles nodded slowly, deep in thought, "Well, I'll ask them and see," he said simply, closing his eyes.
"Be down in a minute!" Alex called a few seconds later.
"Good system you got there," Tony laughed.
"It's easier than yelling for them," Charles smiled at him.
Tony glanced over to where Erik was doing the adult version of pouting. Logan seemed pretty indifferent. He'd walked off the porch and lit a cigar, smoking away from the house.
Pietro ran out in a blur, followed by Wade, then Scott and Alex.
"Hey, Mr. Iron Man!" Wade waved, "Is Peter with you?!" he asked quickly, looking around.
Erik rolled his eyes and sighed, "Peter would like to know if you four want to come over for a sleepover."
Wade's eyes widened, "I'll get my stuff," he said before disappearing.
Alex glanced down at Scott and back up at Tony, "I'm invited too?"
"Yes," Tony smiled at him.
"Can I please?" Scott asked, looking up at Alex with wide eyes.
Alex nodded and looked at Tony, "We'll come."
"YES!" Scott said happily, running upstairs.
Alex ran after him immediately.
"Pietro?" Tony asked softly, "Do you want to come over?"
Pietro shuffled his feet, looking down at his little silver shoes awkwardly. He glanced over at Erik and bit his lip, "I want to," he admitted quietly, "Can I?"
Charles looked up at Erik and Tony was pretty sure the two were having some kind of mental conversation.
"Of course," Erik smiled at him, "Go get your things."
"Thanks, dad," Pietro said, hugging him tightly before running off.
Erik took a deep breath and glared at Tony, "If anything happens, I will rip that thing straight out of your chest and watch you slowly-"
"I really hope the boys have a good time," Charles cut him off quickly, "They love doing things like this. Wade really loves Peter too, so this will be wonderful for them."
Erik continued to glare at Tony the entire time Charles talked.
"Erik, darling, why don't you go inside and make sure the boys pack their toothbrushes?" Charles tried.
Erik gritted his teeth and walked inside.
"He's excited for them," Charles told Tony, smiling politely.
"I'm back with the pizza," Tony called as he walked into the house. He laughed when he saw a large pillow and blanket fort made out of their couch, "What's this?"
Pietro's silver head peaked out of the pillows, "Nothing," he said simply before hiding again.
"Okay, so there's a door if you just push the blanket on this side up," Steve explained, standing up. He smiled at Tony, "Hey," he said giving him that fake innocent look.
Tony rolled his eyes and sat the pizza boxes on the counter, "Wade, show me your hands."
Wade held his hands out of the tent, "I'm keeping them to myself!"
"Good, I bought you a taco," Tony said simply. He made a special trip just for the kid. Maybe he was starting to grow on him.
Maybe.
"Really?!" Wade yelled, crawling out of it. Scott and Pietro followed, then Peter and Harry.
Tony looked around and saw Alex was sitting in the corner of the room, playing on his tablet. He seemed pretty disinterested with playing with the kids, but he glanced up every now and then to check on Scott.
"Alex, do you want some pizza too?" Tony asked.
"Sure," Alex shrugged, standing up and turning his tablet off. He walked over and grabbed a piece and looked at his brother, "Scott, little bites."
Scott gave him a thumbs up, continuing to take bites of his pizza.
Steve studied them, eating his own pizza. Alex acted a lot like Bucky when they were his age. He was overly protective of Steve, always hovering and making sure he was okay. Alex checked on Scott like a parent, despite them practically having three of them at home. He vaguely wondered what happened to them, but he knew it wasn't his business to ask.
Steve glanced over at Tony and saw he was probably wondering the same thing.
Steve cleared his throat, "So, what did you guys want to do tonight?"
"Petey said he wants to play with nerf guns," Wade shrugged, "And I'm good with guns, so that's what we're going to do."
"You mean fake guns, right?" Steve laughed.
"Sure." Wade just shrugged, continuing to eat the taco Tony had gotten him.
"This is going to be hell to clean up," Tony sighed, grabbing a few of the nerf guns from the floor and looking at all of the foam bullets as he did. He wasn't even going to attempt to clean everything up now that the kids were finally asleep.
"It's so sweet," Steve smiled, looking down at the five kids asleep on the floor.
They were sprawled across sleeping bags. Scott was sprawled on his back close to the wall and Alex was lying beside him, his bigger form practically hiding Scott from everyone. Pietro was asleep on his side, curled into Wade's side. Wade was asleep on his back and Peter was asleep with his little head on his chest. Harry had fallen asleep on the couch, a blanket draped over him.
"I want to wake him up and yell," Tony said bluntly.
"It's an innocent, little crush, Tony," Steve rolled his eyes, "They're just kids. It's not like they'll end up married."
Tony rolled his eyes, walking upstairs and throwing the guns into Peter's room, "It's not so bad, I guess."
"Do you think you'll start getting along with Erik?" Steve smiled at him.
"We can tolerate each other," Tony put his arm around Steve, "For the sake of the kids," he said, pulling him into the bedroom.
"JARVIS, lock down," Steve called before flopping on the bed with Tony and planting a kiss on his husband's lips.