Lucky Thirteen

"Okay, here's the deal," Tony said to his kids over breakfast the morning of Bruce's impending visit with his kids. "I know this is going to be weird. Like a huge slumber party with kids you've never met. Like, I don't know, summer camp, but I expect you not to make it weirder." Tony shoveled a fork full of pancakes into his mouth and let his initial point sink in. "One," he said upon swallowing, "you're going to treat them like equals. You're not going to do the jerkass rich kid bragging thing. You're all better than that and it's never been a problem to my knowledge before so don't make it one now. They don't have a fraction of what you do and haven't had the same experiences. Doesn't make them lesser people. If anything they know how to get by and be happy without all of that stuff. So if they're a little awkward, self-conscious or even absolutely blown away with excitement about what we've got here, go easy on them. Just be friendly. With me so far?"

"Yes," they all answered in unison, which Tony found mildly disturbing.

"Okay, good," he said, ignoring their lack of enthusiasm so far. "Two, if you have a problem with any of the kids," he pointed at them with his fork, "you come to me or Bruce about it. He's giving his kids the same speech so if they have a problem with any of you, I expect to hear about it. Now look," he then said, softening his voice and they all turned to look at him. "We don't expect everyone to get along right away or for this to be a field of daisies." Skye raised an eyebrow at his choice of flower. "Some of you don't even get along with each other all the time. Same goes for his kids. We expect there might be clashing personalities and uncertainty all around. But we also expect you to act appropriately according to your maturity level." Tony then fixed his gaze on his youngest. "And, no, Harley, pulling the 'but I'm only 9 and I'm the baby' routine will not act as a get out of jail free card. Sorry, bud."

"So basically what he's telling all you snotty-nosed punks is to treat it like school and be civil," Sam supplied helpfully, with a good deal of sarcasm that Tony snorted at.

"It's going to take half the day just to do introductions though," Clint quipped before taking a big swig of orange juice.

Tony smiled widely at the opening. "Oh no, dad's scheming again," Pietro said dramatically.

"We're going to be playing a few icebreaker games," he said, still smiling a little madly at the idea that he was very glad to have come up with and that Bruce had been fully on board with. They'd spent the entire week texting and emailing ideas back and forth. "Should be interesting."

"Yep," Skye intoned and all at once his kids looked down skeptically at their plates. Again, it was mildly disturbing.

Steve was trying his best to be a good son. His dad was happier than he'd ever seen him. When he had come home from his visit with the Starks the previous Sunday, it had been obvious that whatever was developing between his dad and Tony Stark it wasn't going away anytime soon. Steve had never seen that kind of happy shine in his father's eyes. He couldn't remember his being this happy with any of his past boyfriends.

So Steve knew he would have to adjust. They all would. He just wished all of this change didn't have to come at once. Moving to a new house, moving to a new school and leaving his friends and the girl he liked but never could find the courage even to ask to a single dance – which now maybe was for the best he tried to tell himself – and assimilating with six or seven other kids because their fathers were dating on top of his uncertainty regarding upcoming graduation and what to do with his future… It was just a lot to adjust to. Still, he was willing to try no matter how much he really didn't want to.

Tony Stark seemed okay enough from the initial meeting. Maybe it was his age, but he didn't quite see what his father saw in the man and he'd learned from checking the gossip sites online – Bruce didn't know he, Thor, Loki and Natasha had done so – that before his settling down with Dr. Hansen, Mr. Stark had been a notorious problem-child and playboy. The gossip sites had questioned if the unexpected new man on Stark's arm would be just the beginning of a resurgence of his old habits, what with 40 looming on the horizon and his having been spotted at a science conference again. Steve didn't want to jump to that conclusion and those sites were callous regarding the loss of Mr. Stark's wife no matter how many years it had been, but Steve also wanted to protect his father and his family at all costs. At the moment, there was nothing he could do but accept it and try to trust his dad's judgment, but he was also going to keep an eye open for anything suspicious.

"Whoa!" Peter exclaimed, breaking Steve from his thoughts. "This is where they live?"

Steve looked up from his mindless sketching to crane his neck toward the window of the SUV that had picked them up at the airport. Flying in a private jet had been weird too. Convenient, but weird. Outside the window were an expansive property and a large modern mansion at the end of a long driveway.

"I thought properties like this only existed on HGTV," Loki said incredulously and Steve had to nod in agreement.

"Okay, if anyone was thinking about planning an operation break-up, I will kill them in their sleep and make it look like it was natural causes," Natasha said and they all turned and looked at her, including their dad. "What? The guy's loaded. Tell me exactly what the downside here is."

"Other than he's part of the reason why we're moving?" Steve pointed out. "The reason why you have to leave Bucky?"

Natasha fixed him with a cold stare. "James and I aren't breaking up, FYI. We're going to try and make it work."

"And to be fair, Steve," Bruce interrupted, "moving was always going to happen. I wasn't getting any local job offers that could have paid the bills."

Steve set his jaw, but didn't argue. He knew it had been wishful thinking, but he had been hoping for some kind of miracle that would keep them where they were and Stark had come along and set in stone their upheaval before it could happen.

The SUV pulled up to the house and stopped. Tony opened the passenger door and Steve saw the eager smile as he looked at his dad. "Hey there, gorgeous. Been expecting you," Mr. Stark said and Steve pointedly ignored their quick kiss in favor of gathering up his sketch pad and putting it back into the overnight bag sat between his feet.

They all shuffled out of the SUV and toward the overwhelmingly massive house, following their dad and Tony. The inside looked like a house, sure, but it was so different than their home. There was so much space and he wondered why so much space was necessary. Sure, a few more bedrooms and bathrooms would make the Banner household's life simpler, but he couldn't imagine ever needing this much space. It seemed like there were a million nooks and crannies and there was art – which, okay, he appreciated that aspect – and there were tall ceilings in the main atrium that they were in. He didn't know where to look first.

Welcome, Dr. Banner and company to the Stark home.

Steve blinked and he and his siblings looked around at each other in slight confusion, except for Jane and Peter who looked at each other with wide eyes filled with excitement.

"Is that the AI you created when you were at MIT?" Peter asked.

Indeed I am. I am JARVIS and I am here to assist you with any of your needs.

"I didn't realize he was a fan," Tony said to Bruce.

Bruce smiled. "He had heard of you because of his interest in science, but he and Jane have been doing plenty of reading up on your accomplishments lately I think," Steve was close enough to hear his father's softly spoken response.

"I'm honored," Tony replied. Then more loudly he said, "Okay, everyone. You can just set your bags over there on the long couch," he gestured over to a seating area, "for now and we'll figure out sleeping arrangements later. Plenty of guest rooms, but hey who knows. Maybe you'll want to make a pillow fort before the day is done," he said in a chipper tone and Bruce smiled in amusement.

Steve wanted to point out how very unlikely that was, but he didn't.

"More likely there'll be some attempts to pull an all nighter," their dad said in reply.

Steve had to admit that for one reason or another, like sleeping in a strange house five times larger than their own at least, not getting any rest could be a likely scenario.

They all set down their things and then stood around awkwardly. Steve wondered where the Stark kids were hiding and if they were hiding for the same reasons he really didn't want to be there. Dad had said not to treat them weirdly because they couldn't help it they'd been born into a privileged lifestyle, but he was more put off by their not being hospitable.

"If you'll follow me," Tony said, gesturing. "My kids are waiting in the main living area."

He led them around a corner and down a hall until they came into a large living space with plenty of seating, an enormous television and a fireplace. There were also doors that opened up onto the patio and they were currently opened, letting in sunlight and a breeze.

More eye catching, however, were the seven kids of various ages and countenances gathered around waiting for them. They quickly moved into a line and Steve noticed he and his own siblings mirrored it. It was like a weird team matchup.

Steve found himself across from a boy who looked close to his own age. Given his race, Steve went ahead and guessed he was the son of Tony's friend. Steve couldn't help but take in his physique and felt even more confident in that assessment as he looked like a runner.

He must have been staring a little too long, however, because when he met the boy's eyes again his brow was raised curiously, but he smiled just the same. Against his initial expectations about the meeting, Steve found himself returning the smile easily.

"Name tag game," Tony chirped, breaking his gaze away from the other boy, and began passing out note cards with names on them. "You'll all get a name tag and then you'll take turns taking a stab at matching it to the right person. That person will then introduce themselves to the group. I realize three of you have a slight advantage," Tony stopped in front of Jane as he said it, "so you'll be going last. By the way, don't let me forget, I have a birthday present for you," Tony said to his sister and Steve had to admit again the guy wasn't so bad. "We'll start with you," Tony said pointing at him.

Steve looked down at his name tag and blinked. He looked up at the boy across from him again. "Uh," he started sheepishly, scratching at the back of his neck. "I hope this isn't racist, but I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say you're Sam," he said going across to hand him the card. "Mr. Stark's mentioned his son's friend and, well…"

Sam smiled and took the card. "Ha, yeah. I'm Sam and I'm 16. Nice to meet you and everyone else. Consider me your bonus brother. You know, if your dads ever get married," he finished with a laugh.

Steve was a little startled by the fact that Sam's statement wasn't the thing that made his stomach flip a little.

~

"Okay, we'll start from oldest to youngest," Bruce said, explaining a second silly game as they all sat around the room. "When it's your turn, tell us the one thing you would want to take with you if you were deserted on an island and explain why. It's just a little something fun to share something that's special to you or your thinking processes with each other. It can be absolutely anything, crazy or sentimental. Have fun."

Clint rolled his eyes slightly. "This feels like kindergarten."

His dad looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Really? Because I really don't recall playing this game in kindergarten."

"It is essentially show and tell without the show," Bruce's daughter Natasha said with a shrug.

"Huh, I guess it kind of is," his dad said to that. "Oh well, Steve start us up."

"Easy. An art kit," Steve said. "I love art. And it makes sense to have something like that to fall back on when you're otherwise fighting to survive on a deserted island."

"That exo-flight thing I saw at the science conference," Sam said next and Clint shook his head. His friend had gone on and on about it. "I mean, I'm going to be on a deserted island? Might as well be able to fly if I need to. Good way to escape too maybe."

Clint furrowed his brow slightly at the fact that the entire time Sam had kept his eyes locked on Steve as he said it. Before he could consider it further, Bruce's son Thor – which was a fitting nickname Clint had to admit – said, "A hammer."

Everyone looked at him strangely. "Why a hammer?" Loki – that nickname Clint was less sure of, but whatever – asked his brother incredulously.

"Have you never seen those movies where people are trying to use rocks to break open coconuts? Or build houses? I think a hammer would come in handy," Thor explained.

"That actually makes sense," Clint said in support of the idea. "Okay, I guess I'd have to take my bow. Assuming I can't take my quiver with me as part of a package deal, I would just jimmy up some old school arrows out of sticks and sharp rocks. I'd have hunting covered for us."

Natasha snorted. "Well, while Robin Hood is making arrows, I'm going to take a semi-automatic with plenty of rounds already loaded just in case we need a contingency plan."

"Tasha!" Bruce exclaimed in absolute horror.

"You said go crazy," she countered with a point of her finger. "I'm looking at this strategically." Clint agreed with her logic.

Loki was next and he looked thoughtful. "It feels like all of these efforts would be futile in the end if we had no way of getting off the island. I'd take a cell phone just in case we could get signal with it long enough to call for help."

"And while he brings a cell phone, which isn't a bad idea," Skye chimed in quickly after, "I’d want to bring like the best computer I could get my hands on so I could rig up a way to send out distress signals across the radio waves."

"I feel like I'm the only one who will be enjoying my time on the island drawing the scenery," Steve interjected with a small laugh. Clint looked over just in time to see the way Sam snorted quietly at the joke.

"Well, man, look at it this way," Sam said. "You can sell the drawings when we get off the island. You know the public would eat that up. A firsthand look at the statistically implausible odds of fourteen kids surviving on a deserted island," he finished with a twist of his head and Steve gave a quiet snort of his own.

"I would take my surf board," Pietro said suddenly, probably impatient for his turn as he sometimes was apt to be. "That way I could surf whenever."

"That's great, but it was Jane's turn, kiddo," Tony pointed out.

"That's okay," Jane said with a shrug. "I would take a knife to cut stuff like vines."

"That makes more sense than a hammer," Loki said.

"Loki, both are acceptable survival tools and would work well together for the greater good," Bruce admonished his son.

Clint didn't necessarily disagree that the knife was the better of the two options in the long run, but he was definitely starting to get the vibe that Loki was one of those annoying coffee shop dramatic types who was intimidated by his brother's physicality.

"I would take JARVIS," Wanda said next and Clint's head fell back on his shoulders.

I thank you for the sentiment, but I am not certain there would be any place for me on a deserted island.

"Well, I would make sure you had a body first then," Wanda said, looking thoughtful. "That way you could come along."

You're too kind, Wanda.

Clint wasn't sure if JARVIS was being sarcastic, as he sometimes was even for an AI, but he was starting to think his little sister had a weird crush on the computer program. It was disturbing.

"Well, I wouldn't take my glasses," Darcy said loudly when her turn came. "I'd want to take my cat, but that seems cruel. I would take a television, but no cable so no point. Maybe I should take a weapon or tool like everyone else. What are those things that cops use to shock people?"

"A taser?" Clint asked skeptically.

"Yeah, that! I'd take that," she replied and Clint saw the way everyone over the age of 13 bit down on an amused laugh and decidely didn't ask her to explain.

"I'd take my potato gun," Harley said next. "I could load it up with fruit and rocks and stuff."

"Either our kids are really violent or scarily good at survival," Bruce said, looking at Tony.

"Have you seen The Walking Dead?" Clint fielded that with a question and everyone quickly agreed with his sentiment. "This generation just knows it doesn't hurt to have the skills to survive the zombie apocalypse."

"Of course," Bruce replied with a chuckle. "Okay, Peter, what would you take?"

"That's easy. I'd take you," Peter said. "I'm just a kid. I need adult supervision. They'd probably let me die," he claimed dramatically.

"That's a lovely sentiment, thank you," Bruce said dryly enough to imply he was more amused than touched by being taken along to supervise. "What about you, sweetheart?" He asked the girl sitting in his lap.

"Well, if Peter is already taking you, I guess I would take Tony," Jemma replied sweetly and Clint's eyebrows shot up. "The other kids need their daddy on the island too."

Maybe he was a little soft, but Clint had to admit that was one of the most adorable things he'd ever heard.

Thor looked at his note card in consideration. They were playing a game of get to know me hangman, split up into a team of Banners versus Starks, while they sat at a very large table, large enough to accommodate all of them surprisingly. They were waiting for the sandwiches their dads were in the nearby kitchen preparing. Every now and then Thor could hear their laughter drifting over to the dining area and he had to smile. He didn't like the idea of moving, but he liked the idea of his father being happier than ever and the two men certainly seemed to already care about one another.

"I wish I had superspeed as a superpower," Thor read the card and looked at the Stark kids. He recalled Tony mentioning one of his sons liking to go fast… Oh, the other surfer. "Pietro," he guessed.

"Yep!" The boy said snappily. "I'd call myself Quicksilver," he said proudly.

Thor watched then as Clint drew the next card from the pile of cards with random facts about him and his siblings.

"Captain America is my favorite superhero. Really?" Clint raised an eyebrow and turned his head to Sam beside him. "Is this yours and it got mixed in with theirs?"

"No," Sam replied.

"Okay," Clint drawled, sounding skeptical as he turned and looked back down the line of Banners. He narrowed his eyes studiously before they settled on Steve with what Thor thought looked like suspicion. "Steve?"

"Yeah, yeah that's mine," Steve answered. "I know he's old fashioned, but…"

"Nah, man, he's awesome," Sam countered before Steve could say anything more.

"You think so?" Steve asked, sounding surprised.

Thor looked at his brother with a smile as he and Sam started chattering about the comic book character. It was nice to see him hitting it off with Sam. His friendship with Bucky had been strained a little of late because of Natasha and his only other really good friend was Peggy.

"I used to wish my nickname was Falcon," Loki interrupted their conversation about Captain America. "Hmm. Clint?"

"Wrong bird, sorry," Clint answered with a smirk. "My nickname is Hawkeye actually. Because my eyes are good and I'm better at archery the further I am from the target."

"That's another body part for the Banners," Skye said, keeping score, and drew an arm on their skeleton. "But, wait, which one of us used to want to be nicknamed Falcon?" She said with a scrunch of her face as she looked at her brothers and sisters.

"That'd be me," Sam responded.

"Oh, thank God. I thought it was actually a Stark," Skye said in melodramatic relief. "Hawkeye is bad enough."

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Sam said, nudging the girl beside him with his shoulder.

"I like spiders," Harley read the next one. "Sweet! Please say it's you, dude," the boy said to Peter, who sat across from him.

Thor looked down the table to see his brother's face brighten instantly. "Yep."

"Cool. Do you like rats? I have a pet rat. Everybody thinks that's gross, but whatever."

"No way," Peter said in disbelief. "Rats are cool. My dad would never get me a rat."

"I offered to get you a hamster," Bruce said defensively as he brought two plates over and sat them down in front of Peter and Jemma before turning back toward the kitchen again.

"That's not the same thing," Peter mumbled.

"Totally isn't," Harley agreed.

"I am mostly deaf in my left ear," Natasha read a new card aloud.

Thor's eyes widened. He didn't mean to be insensitive, but he never would have guessed it of any of the other kids. He looked to see Natasha studying them all carefully, as if that could somehow give away something that wasn't visibly obvious. She tilted her head and gazed at Clint long and hard.

"It's you," she finally said and it didn't sound to Thor like a guess, rather a confident statement.

"What gave it away?" Clint asked.

"I've noticed you pay attention to your surroundings more than the others. And you said yourself your eyes are good." She shrugged. "Makes sense."

Wanda drew the next one and read, "I take ballet." She furrowed her brow. "Jane?"

Jane shook her head. "Sorry. I tried it, but I'm not graceful at all."

"That would be me," Natasha supplied as Skye added another limb to the Stark skeleton.

Thor mused that at this rate they would run out of cards before anyone won the game. Not to mention, their dads had returned, setting down two large platters of sandwiches and two large bowls of chips. Soon the game would be forgotten regardless. Thor was already more interested in the food if he were being honest.

Skye drew a card next and read, "I wish I had the library from Beauty and the Beast." She looked down the table and then softened her gaze on Jemma. Thor smiled, also seeing the way his little sister fidgeted in her seat. "Somebody's trying not to give away that it's her card," Skye said playfully. "Jemma?"

"Yes, that's mine," she said. "I love to read."

For some unknown reason, Skye squealed in delight. "Dad!"

"I'm right here," Tony said as he plopped down a thing of paper plates and settled into a chair.

"Dad, we have to go show Jemma the library! Like, right now," Skye said enthusiastically.

"After lunch," Tony said with an air of finality.

The tour of the house had proven it was the kind of decadent palace any sane person, if they were honest with their most basal nature, would desire to live in. By the time it was all said and done, Loki had to agree with Natasha's earlier threat regarding any operation breakup. He could more than certainly play nice if he had to for this kind of trade-off.

Yet for all the grandeur of the house and its countless amenities, Loki had to agree with his youngest sister that the library was by far the crowning jewel. Apparently in redesigning the Stark family home, it was the one room that had been preserved and designed around. That showed in the richness of the room. It apparently was the room that got the smallest amount of use, not something that Loki found surprising, which made it all the more alluring. Ducking into a place like this, away from the ignorance of the modern world and his peers, would be divine.

Now that basic introductions and the tour were over their fathers dismissed them to navigate their own way through this strange new alliance, or to go have fun and become friends as Tony had put it, until dinner time which was voted on to be take out Chinese. They had then left them to it.

For a few moments it was awkward, like a bunch of shy teenagers at a super lame party. Loki sat down on one of the library couches, Jemma bounding over to sit beside him with some book or another she'd picked up, and watched curiously from a distance to see how things would go.

Steve was the first to leave the library, following after Sam to play some basketball like he was suddenly love stricken over the Captain America-loving runner; that was an interesting possibility.

Natasha had seemed to strike an accord with Clint, though over what he couldn't care to guess at the moment.

Peter ran off with Harley to look at his pet rat or something; that they might try to get along was no surprise to him.

Jane started talking to Wanda about the importance of robotics in space which certainly got the Stark's attention and they left to do who knows what, the youngest Stark girl, Darcy, following like a tagalong; he would never admit it, but Loki was endlessly amused by how Jane could twist anything in science to discuss its pertinence to space.

For a few moments Pietro stood around looking rather mopey and uncertain about where he fit in the grand scheme of things until Thor swooped in, like the annoyingly endearing bumbling teddy bear that he was, and asked him about surfing; Pietro practically dragged him away to show him his surfboards.

"Well, either everyone will get along swimmingly or somebody will be carried off to the emergency room before the day is over," he mused out loud once it was quiet again.

"What does swimmingly mean?" Jemma looked up at him curiously. "Nobody's swimming."

"In that sense it means very nicely or very well," he answered her. She gave a soft 'oh' and went back to the book that Loki wasn't entirely sure she understood, but he always had to give her credit for giving it a good effort.

"So…" He looked up to be reminded that Skye hadn't wandered off yet. Instead, she was walking over toward them. "Not to make a basic assumption," she said as she sat down in a nearby armchair, "but are you into the whole coffee shop scene?"

"What gave it away?" He asked, debating on if he was amused or annoyed by her presence and prodding. "The emo-hipster clothing or the fact I'd much rather sit here surrounded by books than join the meatheads?"

"A little bit of both," she replied with disarming ease. He liked when people didn't blink at his sharper tongue. "I was just asking because there's this mom-and-pop local coffee house not too far from here. Super popular, but like not popular enough to make it a Starbucks, you know? Maybe you can check it out tomorrow before you guys leave or next time our dads decide to schedule a weird play date," she said, seemingly amused by their fathers' desperate attempts to make the transition go smoothly.

"At least you and I brought technology to the island," he replied to that with a snort.

"I know right?" Skye said with a twist of her head and quirked face.

"Since we're making basic assumptions," Loki started after a pause, "I wouldn't have guessed you to be in that scene." He looked at her pointedly.

"I wouldn't say I am either," she said with a shrug. "I'm not really in any one scene or group. My interests are pretty vast and I'm kind of like a chameleon. If I'm into something, I can pretty much get along with anyone and if I can't, oh well. I guess I'm a people person?"

"Gross," Loki drawled, but not without a quirk of his lips.

She seemed to find his passive-aggressive insult amusing. "Hey, I get it. Being a people person isn't for everybody. And there are days even I need to recharge and get away from the sheer amount of annoying and stupid that exists out there."

"Hmm. So you're not a sheep, but a chameleon?" He looked at her slightly dubious, but not entirely without intrigue at her assessment.

"Yep," she chirped. "I don't think everybody who does the sheep thing is actually doing it because they realize it. I think some of them even enjoy what is considered one scene or another for the most part. The thing about being a chameleon is I know that I don't fit into any preconceived box so I just change my skin for whatever group I'm hanging with at the moment. It's not that I’m not me anymore when I change my skin, I'm just showing a different layer."

"Like a shape shifter?" He asked with a tilt of his head.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense too. Only, I'm not trying to deceive anyone. Kind of the opposite. I'm just trying to be as true to myself in any given moment that I can."

Loki didn't respond to that, rather sat in silence for a moment. When he did speak he said, "So what's this coffee house like?"

Natasha sat down next to Clint around the fire pit where they were all eating their Chinese and still essentially acting like this was summer camp or something. She almost expected Tony to break out marshmallows for toasting and her dad to break out an untuned guitar to lead them in a rousing chorus of Kumbaya. Or at least they might if they weren't otherwise occupied with flirting with one another as they ate their dinner, clearly more interested in each other than the rest of them at the moment. It was sickeningly sweet and not at all what she and James were like, she insisted even in her own private thoughts.

It wasn't the only flirting that was going on at the moment though, she thought as she moved her eyes over to where Steve, Sam, Thor and Skye were chattering around their dinner. She shook her head, trying to piece together that puzzle.

"So then I'm not the only one wondering if there's something going on there?" Clint asked her.

"I doubt it'll go anywhere if there is," she said lowly. "He's been crushing on the same girl since eighth grade, great friends, she'd probably date him, but he still hasn't made a move. I thought maybe it was because he was into his friend, my boyfriend James, but now I'm wondering if he's more like me."

He raised an eyebrow in her direction and she realized what she had said. She contemplated sharing the rest. It wasn't that she was ashamed, but very few people of the people she'd told believed her or understood. Deciding on a gut instinct that she could trust him, she admitted to her secret.

"I'm asexual. Always have been. I was probably the only five year old I knew who just didn't care if Beauty fell in love with the Beast or let him die," she said with a snort. "Problem is not many people believe me because I'm not uncomfortable talking about sex. It's just part of nature and, hey, I get not everybody is like me so why pretend they are? I still have the things that do it for me on occasion and I do have a boyfriend, but my boyfriend is just the only exception so far." She shrugged as she tried to explain.

"I don't know the first thing about being ace," Clint replied as he shoveled some food into his mouth without manners and continued while he still chewed, "but isn't that your boyfriend is okay with whatever boundaries you need what matters in this situation? You're not in a relationship with anyone else, right? Does he believe you?"

She narrowed her eyes and studied him. He hadn't even blinked, but maybe it was because he didn't know her as well as others to be confused by her complexity. "He seems to. Says he does and hasn't acted otherwise yet," she indulged him.

"What about your dad?" Clint then asked.

Natasha looked down at her plate and then looked over toward her father. He was talking about something and whatever it was Tony was listening intently and the fire was gleaming in both of their dark eyes like a metaphor for the obvious spark between them.

"I haven't tried to explain it to him," Natasha finally answered. "It's not that I think he won't believe me. And he obviously won't think something's wrong with me. I mean, he's very supportive of our choices as long as they're healthy because of his own hardships. But at the same time I just don't know if I want to tell him. He sees me as his little girl who's growing up and dating and that kind of thing. He already worries about me getting hurt. I don't want him to worry that I'm going to get myself hurt even more because others might not understand. I'm maybe even a little afraid he'll say he understands, but won't act like it. I don't know. It's dumb I guess, but it's just easier for me if he just sees me as a teenage girl who's into boys right now. It helps that it makes him super uncomfortable too," she added with humor and he snorted.

"I guess I can understand that. Sometimes it's easier to just want to be yourself for a while without your dad breathing down your neck. To figure stuff out on your own," Clint said with enough conviction that she had to wonder what it was that he was keeping from his dad. "I don't want to go to college," he said as if reading her mind. "Not in the way everybody expects me to anyway. Which, I don't think my dad would throw a hissy fit about it or anything, but there's kind of this pressure there just the same. I'm the oldest Stark and everybody's just waiting for the day the first of the next generation of Starks goes off to college. I should be brilliant because my mom was even if I'm not a biological Stark, but I'm just not. I would flounder at MIT. That's Skye's thing, not mine. I haven't decided what I want to do yet, but I'd like to play the professional archery circuit and then as far as college goes, I don't know, maybe if I do go I'll try something in law enforcement. It's something I've considered. Like being FBI or special ops would be my real dream, just not sure on the roadmap from here to there yet."

Natasha smiled thinly as she took a few bites of food, letting the various chatter and crackle of the fire fill the silence between them for a few moments.

"I've considered law enforcement too," she admitted. It was something nobody knew about her. "Criminal justice of some kind and I'm interested in FBI too. It's… My birth parents were killed and I was abducted by a crime ring when I was nine."

"The fuck?" He looked at her with wide-eyed disbelief. "Are you okay? I mean, that kind of post-trauma… It just doesn't go away, right?"

She tightened her lips and shook her head. "I think it would have been worse if I'd been shuffled into the system afterwards," Natasha said after a slight moment to get her bearings and press on. "My dad, Dr. Banner… He fought tooth and nail to be able to adopt me. His cousin Jennifer helped too when she recovered from being shot. I've never told anybody this save my therapist, but the police found me just in time. I knew what they were going to do with me and I was going to burn the place to the ground before they even got a chance," she said as evenly as possible.

"It's not even about revenge or justice for what happened to me," she continued. "At least, I don't think it is. I just want to be on the side of the law that prevents that kind of thing. I want to be the person who does every damn thing possible to get the people out who need getting out."

Clint gave her a solemn look, but had the decency not to patronize her with sympathy. "Well then," he toasted her with his soda instead, "here's to the futures we want."

As the second film of the night ended and the kids clamored for another one because they weren't tired, Bruce chuckled softly to himself. "This has gone remarkably well so far," Bruce murmured to Tony who sat beside him with his arm around his shoulders.

"We'll see if they're all as amicable with each other in the morning," Tony muttered back with a knowing smirk.

"Sounds like a fun experiment," Bruce replied as he looked down at Jemma, who had passed out halfway during the second movie with her head in his lap. "I'm usually pretty strict with bed times during the school year, but I don't see the point in stopping them from having fun if they're getting along. Could be good for them to do the whole stay up until they crash bonding thing," he said thoughtfully. "But Miss Jemma needs a bed," he added.

Tony nodded and carefully removed his arm and stood up. "Okay, everybody. Your dads have reached the mutual agreement that you can stay up if you want to. Watch some more movies, do each other's hair and makeup, whatever. Ground rules are pretty simple. Nothing inappropriate or illegal, JARVIS is monitoring and my kids know I'll know. If anything happens, have JARVIS alert me immediately. Stay in the house. JARVIS will alert me if you go outside. My kids, this is your sugary substance cutoff. If you get thirsty, water from here on out. If you get hungry, limit it to the popcorn or leftovers in the fridge. I think that about covers it."

Bruce carefully stood and picked Jemma up into his arms. She stirred slightly, but didn't wake up. "My kids, those rules apply to you too in case it wasn't clear. I'm sure JARVIS will alert me if it's one of you."

"Since when have we ever given you cause to worry?" Natasha asked skeptically.

"The Aisle 10 incident," he answered evenly.

"Well played," she said and looked away.

Bruce shook his head and carefully stepped around the kids lounging on the floor. As he passed one of the bucket seats on his way to the door, Skye said, "Hey, you can put her in my room if you'd like."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I figure if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she's less likely to freak out in my room than the impersonal guest room," she said with a shrug. "It's also one of the closest rooms to the master," she added knowingly.

"She might have a point there," Tony said from where he was waiting by the door. Bruce gave him a small smile.

"Thank you, Skye," Bruce then said and followed Tony out of the theater room.

Tony led the way to Skye's room and then held out his arm to let him pass. Bruce moved toward the full sized bed. Tony was at his side again and pulling back the covers for him. Bruce carefully deposited Jemma down and she startled a little.

"Daddy?" She mumbled, semiconscious, as he covered her up.

"Shh. It's okay. You're in Skye's bed, sweetheart. Go back to sleep," he urged her, giving her a soft kiss at her hairline, and her head relaxed into the pillow. Suddenly one of the Starks' cats, the one Skye had called Quake if he wasn't mistaken and that had taken to Jemma immediately, came bounding across the bed and curled up next to her. He smiled at the sight and when he turned, Tony was smiling too.

"I don't know about you," Tony said in a hushed tone once they were out in the hall again and moving in the direction the billionaire's feet had chosen, "but even if they are all grumps in the morning, after today I'm thinking this crazy supersized thing might work." Bruce hummed in agreement. "And I'm so damn relieved," Tony said then, stopping sharply beside him.

Bruce stopped a few feet ahead before he turned and looked to see clear relief mingled with lust in Tony's dark eyes. It couldn't be far off from what his own eyes looked like, he thought.

"Me too," he confessed.

He had told himself that he liked Tony too much to be dissuaded if the kids didn't hit it off right away, but now that the bandage had been ripped off with minimal pain he had to admit he hoped that it might stay this easy because at the end of the day his kids' feelings were still important and he might be dissuaded in spite of his determination not to be if it wasn't easy.

They stood there in mutual relief for a long moment, letting it surround them. Their eyes remained locked and the inevitable hung in the air like a balloon just waiting to pop.

Bruce wasn't sure when it happened or who made the first move, but suddenly there were lips against his own where there hadn't been before. Those lips were raw and hungry, wasting no time in pulling him in deeper. With their bodies pressed together they began to fumble in the direction Tony was attempting to push them, with Bruce doing his part in moving backwards. At least until they ran into a wall, having missed the bend in the hallway.

They broke apart for a few seconds to laugh a little at that, but it was just as quickly forgotten as they made the most of the 'inconvenience' and went right back to devouring one another as if it had been a month since they'd last had this kind of physical contact and not a week. If Bruce wasn't quickly losing his rational thought, he'd wonder longer about how they would manage the upcoming nearly three weeks when they likely wouldn't be able to have any of this kind of contact because of their schedules being uncertain.

"What about you, Bruce?" Tony teased huskily when they were forced to breathe. "Tired or are you interested in an all-nighter?" He asked as his hands roamed south towards his hips and one dipped lower to leave an infuriatingly light touch against Bruce's growing hardness.

Bruce grasped Tony's hand and pressed it harder against him, noting the ravenous glaze in Tony's eyes at the motion. "What do you think?" He challenged, practically groaning the question.

Tony leaned into his ear and sucked on it before whispering, "I think we're going to fuck each other hard and filthy. Is that what you want?" Bruce tried to keep the obscene noise in the back of his throat from being too loud as Jemma was still just down the hall, but it was hard as Tony kept going with a slew of equally obscene refrains in his ear. "Is that what you want, Bruce?" Tony asked again, granting him a momentary reprieve to answer with breathless desire.

"Fuck, yes."