Chapter 18
"Joy to the world… Literally"
(Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder)
Day 14: Thursday, December 24.
Steve blinked several times processing what Pepper had just told him. The fact that she looked so calm while she said it made him think it was a joke but she smiled nervously at Natasha while the woman approached her and held her hand. He could see Tony was talking on his phone while Maria did the same.
“Do you need anything?” Steve asked dumbly.
“Oh, no, it’s- it’s fine” Pepper grimaced, as she tried to keep her breathing under control.
Natasha offered a glass of water, “I thought you were suppose to give birth in a few we-“
“Yeah, well, me too!” Pepper exclaimed, “Oh, crap, Happy’s not here”
Maria stood next to them, “It’s okay, I called him”
Steve could hear Tony yell on the phone, “What do you mean the ambulance won’t be able to come if there’s still press outside?!”
Bruce was with him trying to calm him but Tony seemed pissed. Thor then walked towards them, sensing something was happening. Even though the rest of the party was still going normally.
“Something wrong my-“
“I’m giving birth!” Pepper whined.
“Fuck” Thor said, looking at her, she was now starting to sweat.
Darcy, Jane and Wanda arrived then. Thor turned and told them what was happening, he didn’t really need to, since Pepper was holding her belly and making faces every several seconds. Darcy pulled her phone out and started recording, Jane shrieked in excitement and Wanda pulled out her polaroid camera and snapped a picture. She waved at Vision who joined them a few seconds later.
“This is so cool” Darcy grinned, zooming into Pepper’s reddened face.
The woman glared, “I would like to keep the number of people seeing me give birth in the middle of a party to the minimum!”
“How is she?” Bruce asked, joining them.
“She’s turning into the Hulk” Darcy said, and even Pepper chuckled.
She winced, “Don’t make me laugh”
“Ok, Pepper, how close are the contractions?” Jane asked.
“I don’t know, I don’t know” Pepper shook her head.
“Every seven minutes” Natasha answered, standing up to let Jane sit next to her, “Pregnant Pepper is fine but Giving Birth Pepper scares me” she explained to Vision.
“Where’s the ambulance?” Thor asked.
“There seems to be a problem with that” Bruce said quietly to him, telling Pepper that wasn’t going to help much.
“We could take her in the quinjet!” Steve said, “We’ll get there faster”
Pepper nodded, frantically, “Yes! Yes! That! Quinjet! Now!”
Natasha walked away, “I’ll get Clint!”
“He’s in the dancefloor with Pietro” Wanda said, and she looked way too excited about Pepper giving birth, “This is amazing!”
“Not if you are in my position” Pepper gritted, “Oh, god, this is so…”
Bruce offered her a towel, drying the sweat from her forehead, “Try to breath” he said.
“Where the hell is Happy!?” Pepper said almost crying, “I’m going to kill him” she gritted, squeezing Steve’s hand harder than she should have.
Darcy snorted still taping her. Jane and Bruce tried to hold their laughs. Watching Pepper going from almost crying to laughing to angry was pretty hilarious. Steve noticed Pietro walking towards them, as unbothered and calm as always. Natasha talked with Maria and the woman nodded at her.
“Clint will have the jet ready” Pietro said.
Natasha approached them, “Maria says she can handle the guests”
“Let’s take you to the jet, Pepper” Steve said.
The hospital wasn’t close, but they would arrive faster in the quinjet. Maria had said she was staying to handle the guests but Pepper insisted she carried on with the party and she had agreed. Darcy and Jane had promised to help her.
“Bruce will be there for your arrival” Steve told Pepper, “How are you?”
“Scared, sort of, I don’t know” Pepper smiled, Steve could tell she was nervous.
“Pep, you and little Grumpy there will be just fine” Tony said, “And I will punch Happy as hard as I can for not being here for you to murder his hand” he added, making a face when Pepper squeezed his hand harder.
Pepper managed to laugh despite all, “You better” she said, “Is he at the hospital?”
Tony nodded, “Should be” He looked at Steve and the blond knew it was a little white lie.
He smiled soflty at the man and he smiled back, looking back at Pepper and kissing the top of her head.
When they arrived Bruce had already taken care of most of the paperwork needed. Happy was still on traffic, that much he had said when he called Tony minutes after they arrived to the hospital. Pepper was taken to a room while the doctor arrived. The nurse had told them that she wasn’t fully dilated so they could wait a few minutes for Happy, but not much.
“You alright?” Natasha asked the woman.
“I’m excited” Pepper nodded.
“We all are” Natasha kissed her forehead.
“Literally all of us” Tony said.
Pepper looked around the room. Tony, Steve, Bruce, Natasha, the twins, Clint, Thor and Even Vision all looked excited and nervous. She smiled and then looked at Tony, offering one of her looks that said she was proud of him but she rarely offered to him. Or anyone for that matter. “I know” Tony winked at her and smiled.
Pepper was still, after all, his best friend.
“Pepper Hogan?” The nurse entered the room, “I’m Cathy” She introduced herself as she checked the monitor next to Pepper, “We can’t wait anymore”
“Five minutes more?” Pepper asked.
“I’m afraid no” The nurse said, apologetically.
Pepper sighed and nodded.
“The family can wait outside” The woman said, looking at all of them with a warm smile.
“We are going to be right here, Pepper” Natasha said kissing her head.
“We’ll see you” Clint smiled at her.
Pepper nodded and waved as they all left her room. Wanda, who hadn’t stop smiling widely waved at her and snapped a picture before she grabbed Pietro’s hand and left the room. Cathy the nurse, couldn’t help but look at all of them form head to toe. She the turn to Pepper, staring to move the bed.
“I’ve never seen people dressing so elegant for a hospital” She joked, making Pepper laugh, she then turn to Tony, “You have to wait outside, Sir”
Tony nodded but before he could leave Pepper grabbed his hand. He turned to her and Pepper smiled at him.
“Can he go?” She said to Cathy, Tony stared at her surprised, “You are my best friend, Tony” She rolled her eyes, “Don’t make that face”
Tony nodded and then looked at the nurse, “Can I? I mean I’m not-“
“Sure you can, honey” the woman nodded.
Tony stayed with Pepper for about ten minutes. Before Happy arrived, looking terrified for the birth, angry about the stupid traffic and happy for Pepper. Tony kissed Pepper’s forehead and hugged Happy before leaving to the waiting room.
The waiting room had a soda machine, a coffee machine, a television in mute and several, very comfortable looking chairs. Wanda was laying on the floor with her feet on of the chairs, snapping pictures of herself and ocassionally of her brother, who was reading a magazine or Vision, who was watching the television. Bruce and Natasha were talking quietly, the woman sitting on his lap with her head on his shoulder. Thor and Clint where playing cards while they drank coffee. Steve was looking outside of the window when Tony approached him.
“Hey” Steve turned, “Hey” he smiled, “How’s Pepper?”
“Well, the doctor said she was fine, so…”
Steve nodded and looked back at the window. Tony stood next to him, looking outside, wondering what was so interesting for Steve. Just like him, Steve seemed lost in thought a lot lately and something told him they had that in common.
“We both get lost with the ghosts of our past” Tony said, and he meant to say it quietly, just for him, but Steve looked at him, not in confusion, but knowing exactly what he meant.
“He is very real, though” Steve said, looking back outside.
Tony nodded, knowing that he meant Bucky Barnes. He had seen Sam Wilson and Steve talking about something about a “missing person” case.
He moved closer to him. Steve looked at him and smiled so sweetly that Tony swore his knees went weak. He then looked at Natasha and Bruce, chuckling and whispering to each other. Wanda then snapped a picture at them from the floor. He realised she had been taking pictures of everything from her friends to the ceiling and the plants since she had many polaroids on the floor.
“If you are trying to get a bad picture of me you won’t be able to” Tony grinned, Wanda laughed.
“She likes taking picture of people without asking permission” Steve explained, “Her room in full of them”
“She’s… quirky” Tony smiled, “I like her” Steve smiled.
“Kiss already!” Clint said in a teasing tone, Tony rolled his eyes and kissed Steve, “I was kidding!” he groaned and they heard Thor laughed loudly.
“We are getting coffee” Bruce said standing up, Natasha too, “Anyone?”
“Me, me, me, me” Tony raised his arm, “Two”
Bruce nodded, “Thor? Clint?” Clint nodded and Thor shook his head.
“Chocolate, yes?” Wanda asked raising her arm.
“Sure” Bruce nodded.
“No coffee for Pietro, he starts getting annoying” Wanda grinned at her brother, who pulled his tongue out at her, "More annoying" she added.
“Chocolate is fine” Pietro said.
“Ok” Bruce nodded.
The waiting room got colder a few hours later.
Wanda and Pietro had already fallen asleep, Bruce was reading a magazine while Natasha struggled to keep her eyes open, Thor was talking on the phone with Jane, who was telling him the party ended up being a success. Steve was playing cards with Clint and Tony talked with Vision.
Cathy the nurse entered the room and looked around.
“Pepper Hogan” She said loudly.
The twins jumped awake and so did Natasha. Bruce stood up, leaving the magazine aside and Thor told Jane something on the phone before he hung up. Tony walked towards the nurse.
“Here” Tony said, “Everything alright?”
The woman smiled and nodded, “You can come see her now” She started walking and all the Avengers stood up and followed her.
She turned and looked at them, they were all with smiles on their faces.
“All of you are coming?” The woman asked incredulously, “You all are Hogans?” She said raising one eyebrow and trying not to smile, They looked at eachother and nodded, “Sorry, family only”
“Well fuck” Tony said.
“Hospital rules” The woman said apologetically.
They all started talking to eachother about entering in turns.
“Or you could just see her and the baby through the glass” The nurse said smiling.
“Perfect” Natasha nodded.
Pepper was on the bed and Happy was smiling next to her. She was holding the baby, a tiny thing envolved in a pink blanket that looked warm. When she saw then she smiled and waved. They waved back at her trying to get a better look at the baby in her arms.
“Here she is” Happy said, “Healthy, perfect, beautiful”
“Avengers” Pepper smiles softly, leaving a kiss on top of the baby girl’s head, “This is Joy” she smiles, “Joy, this are the Avengers”
“She’s beautiful” Natasha smiles widely, Bruce nods and kisses her temple.
Clint smiles, “Amazing”
“Joy to the world” Thor adds.
“Fa la la la” Wanda and Pietro chant soflty, even when they are separated by Vision, Thor and Clint, they grin at each other
“Well, the name is just right for her” Steve said smiling.
“What a tiny thing she is” Vision mentions, looking at the baby with fascination.
“Congratulations, Hogans” Tony said.
“She was born december 25th at exactly 12:01 a.m.” Happy added.
“It’s christmas already!” Wanda said hugging her brother and Thor, “Merry christmas!”
“Merry Chritmas” Thor smiled, hugging her and her brother, he turned to Clint and hugged him.
“Merry christmas, Jolly Green” Tony clapped Bruce’s back and the man chuckled, “Miss Jolly Green” he hugged Natasha.
She returned the hug and smiled wickedly, “As a christmas present I will let you keep your fingers, Stark” she winked and turned to Wanda.
Clint snorted and clapped Tony’s shoulder. The man winced and then smiled, Wanda then hugged him unexpectedly. He returned the hug awkwardly and the threw a glance at Pietro and Steve, who were holding their laughs.
“Happy Christmas” Wanda said and then went to hug Vision.
“Merry Christmas, Stark” Pietro shook his hand and then hugged Natasha who kissed his cheek and then slapped it softly, “Tough Love, this one” Pietro told Bruce, and the man chuckled.
Steve hugged Tony and whispered Merry Christmas to him. Tony could see Pepper and Happy grinning at him with the corner of his eye.
They arrived at the tower at almost two in the morning, The place was mostly clean, except for a few balloons on the floor, confetti and empty glasses of champagne on the tables. Thor announced he was starving while he looked for food in the kitchen. Luckily, Clint found out there was enough leftovers for everyone. Soon, Pietro, Steve and Vision joined them.
“Please tell me there are some truffles left” Wanda said, tying her hair in a ponytail.
“Yup” Clint smiled, “I hid a couple for you, princess” he passed her a bowl full of truffles of different flavours.
Wanda clapped excited and sat on the kitchen counter, taking the bowl from Clint’s hands. Natasha took her shoes off and threw them on the floor, sitting next to her, she took three chocolate truffles and grinned when Wanda whined. She offered one to Bruce and the man took one.
“This are so bad word good” He said, making Wanda laugh.
“Seriously, let it go” Steve said and it was met with several laughs.
“I’m putting the turkey in the oven for a few minutes” Clint said, “Want some, Stark?” he asked.
Tony nodded, he undid his tie while he turned the coffee machine on, “Coffee first”
“Make me some” Bruce said.
“This mash potatoes are great” Pietro said leaning against the counter, he had a bowl infront of him and a big spoon.
“That would go perfectly with the turkey” Clint took the bowl from him and smiled, Wanda snorted and Pietro whined.
“My dear Jane left a few presents for each of us under the tree” Thor informed form the living room.
As soon as he said it, Pietro was next to the tree kneeling to reach for a present with his name on it. Wanda left the truffle bowl forgotten and sat next to her brother, followed by Natasha and Vision. Steve took a truffle and leaned on the kitchen counter next to Tony, who was struggling to keep awake while the machine finished his coffee. Steve chuckled and pressed a button, making the machine work.
Tony pressed his lips and shook his head, blinking several times.
“Truffle?” Steve asked.
Tony shook his head, “Not a fan of chocolate”
“Well, this is a whole new side of Tony Stark I didn’t know about” He said jokingly.
Tony chuckled, “Second guessing already?” he retored.
Steve smiled, pulling him into a kiss.
Tony smiled into the kiss before kissing Steve deeper, tasting the faint taste of chocolate from his tongue. He pulled back when the machine made a sound.
“I think I might change my mind about that chocolate” he said, making Steve blush slightly.
“That’s the lamest line I’ve ever heard you say, Stark” Clint said, crossing his arms trying not to laugh.
Tony rolled his eyes and moved to grab a cup form the cupboard. Steve chuckled softly and shook his head.
He went to his room and got the paintings he had made for each avenger. Just like Tony’s, each had a note for them.
“I love this, Steve” Natasha hugged him.
“You are very good” Bruce nodded.
“You have got to draw me like one of your french girls sometime” Clint said, making them laugh.
They said goodnight to each other and went to their respective rooms afterwards. Steve thought about going up to Tony’s room, but decided to just let him rest properly. He blushed to the thought of being in Tony’s room and just not resting.
After he showered quickly he dressed into his pajamas and laid on his bed. He stared at the lights coming form the window. He liked sleeping with the curtains open, he liked the lights of the city illuminating faintly his room.
He was about to fall asleep when he noticed his window was slightly open. He stood up and walked towards the window carefully. He had closed them before he left to the party hours ago, he closed it and locked it from inside looking outside for a few seconds.
And before Steve went back to his bed he saw it.
It was small, but the light reflected on the material made it crinkle when he moved away from the window. He picked it from the nightstand and stared at it. It was old and scratched, the needle was missing and it didn’t work, it looked like it hadn’t work for a long time.
An old compass.
A trinket really.
“Bucky”