Dawn of New Change

PREVIOUSLY ON: Dawn of New Change

Taeyong is trying to get his life into order and in doing so moves into the new Avengers Tower with his dad. He also decides that it would be best to attend the funeral of Ben Urich, he may not have known the man but Taeyong was still an admirer of his work. It is at this funeral where Taeyong gets a new insight to life and rethinks a lot of things about himself.

We also find out that Natasha has moved into the Avengers Tower as well. 

The moving process was hectic but Taeyong kind of loved that. It felt like moving into the Avengers Tower was just a nonstop flurry of movement. With Natasha there, Taeyong had the time of his life pranking his dad and then pranking her in return. Both adults would utilize the younger boy to do their bidding for each other.

Taeyong had watched as former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents who had retired but needed to stay safe because of the Project Insight case, came to Stark Industries looking for work. Ever since the entire fiasco with Nick Fury's fake death, Captain America and the Winter Soldier (what? You think Taeyong wasn't going to do his homework?) had let out almost every S.H.I.E.L.D. secret, this meant that the media hit a frenzy.

One would think that they would shine their light over the national security measures set out by S.H.I.E.L.D. But no. Apparently looking at Taeyong and scrutinizing his mother came up on their list of priorities. His dad tried his best to handle the situations but there was a rise in smaller media outlets, a rise in social media platforms and although Tony could do something about the big newspapers, there wasn't a lot he could do when it came to small YouTube conspiracy videos.

Taeyong sighed, clicking on the Do not recommend this channel tab for another YouTube video that illustrated his face and then the face of his mothers. The title is just another conspiracy and clickbait material that had Taeyong anxiously picking at the skin of his fingers with. He rubbed at his hair, noting that it was thinner and he felt stressed at seeing strands of his fair fall onto his hand.

"Jarvis, close YouTube. Can you put on some TV?"

"Ben 10, sir?"

Taeyong snorted, rolling his eyes. He hadn't watched Ben 10 in ages. But there was a settling ache in his chest and he was starting to feel a little nostalgic anyway. "Yeah sure, go for it." Taeyong put the Stark tablet on the coffee table and leant against the armrest of the couch, mindlessly watching reruns of a kids TV show. His eyes were practically scanning the contents of the episode but he couldn't find himself taking anything in.

Sighing again, almost as if to say 'hey look at me! I don't know what's wrong, but there's something wrong with me!' and then he fell against the couch cushions and tried to sleep.

***

Amidst the chaos of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents casually strolling through the office and communal spaces in the lower floors, Taeyong took his time to show Mark and Johnny the tower. "So this is where everyone kind of goes for chill time," Taeyong said, arms wide and waving on the ground floor. The entire space was made of large tables with areas for quick break time. Fridges stocked to the max with foods and drinks. Mark had a lovely time munching on some cheetos whilst Johnny connected his phone to the free Wi-Fi.

"Why don't you have a phone?" Mark asked, blinking back at Taeyong.

The boy in question stopped walking and looked back at Johnny's phone with a furrow in his brow. "Huh... I don't know? I've never needed one, the only people I talk to are you guys. Everyone else is already living here so Jarvis connects me to them."

"Can Jarvis call me?" Johnny asked.

"Yes I can," he responded. Mark and Johnny grinned.

Taeyong led them to the elevators and they walked around the work areas. Saying hi to any adults that took the time to explain what it is that they were working on. Johnny's eyes seemed to shine brightly as his social skills came into play. Taeyong watched in awe as Johnny easily engaged in conversation with the workers, asking about their jobs, their day and generally sticking relatively close to the subject at hand. Meanwhile, Mark kept poking around at all the different office supplies and giggling, hands wandering around the entire space.

Taeyong tried to keep a close eye on the younger the further along the space he moved but he had never seen Johnny in his element before. It was new and so cool.

"Oh sorry," came Mark's voice.

Johnny and Taeyong both turned to find the younger boy picking up a folder for the ground. Standing before him was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Taeyong could easily differentiate between who was an agent and who already worked for Stark Industries. This lady's back was rim-rod and straight, her eyes were focused intensely on Mark and then the folder he was picking up. Her hands were behind her back, almost like she was awaiting orders.

Taeyong came quickly, a hand on Mark's upper back as he blinked up at the lady. "Sorry to bother you..." he squinted at the little writing on her ID badge. "Miss May... wait- as in Melinda May?" Taeyong blinked, jaw almost falling slack.

"Taeyong Lee-Stark," the agent nodded, before carefully taking the folders from Mark's little hands. "Pleasure boys," she said before leaving. Taeyong watched her walk into the elevators, eyes scanning the rest of the office block before landing on him again. He didn't look away, mesmerised by the lady before the elevator doors closed and he was brought back to the present.

"You know her?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, who's Melinda May?" Johnny stepped in front of Taeyong, waving his hand in the boy's face.

"She-" Taeyong grabbed Johnny's hand, pushing him away. "She's like a Level Seven certified SHIELD agent. One of the best, up there on Nick Fury's level," he explained.

"Shouldn't it be Level Ten then?" Mark asked.

Taeyong waved his hand, "she probably is. I don't remember how many levels there are to be exact. But she's like- up there you know?"

Johnny looked back at the elevator humming, "well... we do now."

Taeyong walked them to the private elevators, his own passed buzzing in softly as they rode it all the way up to his floor. He made a little 'ta-da' sound as he led both boys inside. Johnny and Mark gasped before running around the giant space and touching everything. Mark had his face pressed up against the windows, overlooking the New York cityscape whilst Johnny flicked through the TV, using Jarvis to help.

"So," Johnny clapped his hands together. "Movie night, we can binge an entire series- then pizza and then sleepover?"

Taeyong nodded easily, "I'm down, Mark?"

"Oh! Do you think we can watch Narnia?"

***

Taeyong walked into the giant conference room because that is where Tony was. He didn't deem it necessary to look at any of the other occupants of the room because right now, he just wanted his dad. Taeyong had... a stomach bug. Arguably, a pretty shitty excuse to crash into what would probably be deemed an important meeting, but Taeyong didn't care.

He strolled in easily, or as easily as a sick thirteen year-old could. His face felt bloated and puffy, even if he looked almost skeletal. His hands were wrapped around his waist and his knees seemed to buckle from the walk. But he used his shoulder to press against the door.

"Jarvis," Taeyong croaked. "Open the door for me," he ordered.

It slid open easily with a little beep. Jarvis and Taeyong already had a mini argument about what to do and after taking the necessary medication that Jarvis listed, Taeyong still wanted to go and ambush his father. Jarvis had reminded him that the meeting was Avenger-specific but Taeyong's argument apparently won cases. (He was my dad before he was an Avenger J, let me go!)

Tony looked up when he saw his son enter the conference. Taeyong felt his nauseating headache already seem to disappear as soon as he saw his father. That's what he'd like you to believe, it's just because the room itself was dark and the lack of artificial lighting was probably good for his eyes. The man himself didn't seem too surprised to see his sick son almost waddling up to him, having already got a ping sent to his watch by Jarvis.

"Hey buddy," Tony said, sliding his chair backwards.

Taeyong simply gave a zombie-like groan and plonked himself on his dad's lap, resting his head against Tony's shoulder. "Baba," Taeyong whispered, eyes closed and legs hanging off the edge of Tony's arm rest.

"Yes?" Tony asked.

"Baba," Taeyong simply said again, before closing his eyes and curling into Tony's body.

Tony, simply let the boy rest, before turning back to the others in the meeting. Currently, the space was filled with Natasha, Clint and a very much alive Phil Coulson. "Meeting adjourned?"

"Sure," Coulson said easily, his hands already coming over to swipe down the holograph and collect his necessary folders. Natasha stood up, with Clint ready to be dismissed. Tony simply sat back in his chair more, arms holding Taeyong in place, lest the boy just slither out of his grip and sleep on the floor.

Unfortunately, Tony's ability to sleep anywhere and everywhere was starting to become a skillset that Taeyong was acquiring.

Clint walked around, hands fiddling with something in his pocket before he took out what looked like a little pouch. He banged it against his kneecap and handed the packet back to Tony, who furrowed his brows but took it. Tony's eyes widened when he realised that it was a cooling pack. "Thanks Legolas," he said.

Clint rolled his eyes but grinned as he walked out.

Taeyong himself made a speedy recovery. Turned out, all he needed was a good nap to fully digest everything he had eaten the night before and he was back to his usual hyperactive self. "So Clint was the one that helped me?" Taeyong asked, leaning over his father's car to get a good look at the engine his dad was working on.

"Yep," Tony said, swiping a cloth over some oil stains.

"I should say thank you," Taeyong decided, already getting out of the car and walking away to the door.

"Sure," Tony said, not really paying too much attention.

"Don't forget the coolant!" Taeyong shoulder over his shoulder, before snickering at the curses he could hear coming from under the car.

Clint was a hard person to find on even the good days. Taeyong had tried to find the man without Jarvis' help but then gave up after walking and looking around three different floors. "Where is he?" Taeyong asked, walking back into the Avengers communal kitchen space and sitting up on the counter space.

"In the vents, Taeyong."

"In the-" Taeyong pursed his lips and walked into the nearest bathroom. He stood up on the toilet and went to unscrew the nearest vent space. "Why in the world is he in the vents? Jarvis?"

"It seems that Mister Barton is on his way to steal some of Natasha's case files."

"And... he's doing that from the vents... where am I going?"

"Forward Taeyong- he has his arrows with him. I suspect that a device will be used in order to obtain these files. I believe that Mister Barton is doing this as a prank. To your left Taeyong-"

"Thanks," Taeyong muttered, crawling on his stomach and grimacing. He was feeling well enough but putting pressure on his stomach was a little jarring. Taeyong really hated getting sick. He crawled continuously until he eventually reached Clint. "Clint! Clint! Oi, Agent Barton!" Taeyong shuffled forward, tapping the man's legs.

Clint yelped, falling forward through the vent hole and Taeyong blinked. His eyes had widened as the man disappeared from view and landed roughly on the ground. Taeyong shuffled forward, using his elbows to push himself forward until he overlooked the agent from the vent covers.

"Whaaaaa-" came Clint's delirious voice.

"Hey," Taeyong waved, still from above. "You good?"

"Sorry, can you say that a bit louder," Clint motioned to his ears. Taeyong squinted, only just noticing the cochlear implants.

"Oh," Taeyong held a finger out and quickly shuffled forward until he hung just out of the vent. He landed easily enough, noting that they were in Natasha's bathroom. "I wanted to thank you, for the cooling pack the other day," he said slowly, making sure to pronounce the words correctly.

Clint gave an amused chuckle, nodding as he stretched his back. "No worries kid."

"Oh cool," Taeyong grinned. "Um... you alright?" he asked, pointing at the man's arm. Clint looked back down where his skin had been nipped. There was a small scratch but still big enough to bleed a little. Taeyong went over to the sink, taking out some plasters. He handed one over to Clint, looking at the man fully.

Clint was blond, with short cropped hair and gave him a very agent-esque feel. He was wearing a short sleeved black top with some cargo pants and built in pockets kind of everywhere. It was like he was getting ready for a mission even if he was just trying to steal some case files from Natasha.

There was the S.H.I.E.L.D. and Avengers ID badge hanging from his lanyard around his waist. He twisted to reach around the back of his arm where the cut was and placed the plaster over it. Taeyong then noticed that the man was kind of covered in bruises and cuts. He pursed his lips, tutting slightly.

"You should really carry plasters around with you, like with the cooling pack."

"Yeah?" Clint asked, leaning against the bath and wincing slightly.

"You still hurt?"

"My back," the agent shrugged, stretching out a little more. "Guess stealing those case files will be for a later date."

Taeyong stood up a bit straighter, "we could get them now!" He marched over to the door and just as he opened it Clint started to shout his protests. Taeyong didn't see any reason for the both of them not to complete his mission until he stood just before Natasha. She eyed the both of them with an arched brow and smirk.

"Oh," Taeyong said.

Natasha slowly shook her head, "you've corrupted Taeyong."

"What?!"

***

Taeyong had started learning ASL now that Clint had been living in close quarters with the rest of the team. He spent a lot of time with the agent because Clint would much rather spend his time screwing around in the tower than go on actual missions. It was the complete opposite with Natasha who spent almost all her time away on lucrative missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. One that they were still trying to build from the ground up.

Anyway, Taeyong's hands and arms were careful and slow in their movements. He was just getting a grip on asking questions but wanted to look less robotic with his movements. Clint's ASL was so easy and flowed really well. Taeyong felt that he was chopping the air at some points in his sentences.

He had gotten down 'thank you' really easily and 'sorry' quite well. But he wanted to move to higher and harder challenges. Clint said that his ambition was in the right place but they would have to take it slowly. Taeyong was in the middle of trying to ask 'how are you?' when he walked into the Labs. He didn't notice Doctor Bruce Banner at first.

"-Getting it out there in the atmosphere instead of holding this in. I mean this is wha gets people sick you know? Wow... I had no idea you were such a good listener. To be able to share all my intimate thoughts and experiences with someone- that just cuts the weight of it in half."

Taeyong looked up, confused.

"It's like a snake swallowing its own tail, it all comes full circle. And the fact that you were able to help me process-"

Tony was lounging in one of his chairs, DUM-E and You were scooting around the Lab, finally brought in from Malibu and sitting on one of their armchairs was Bruce. Taeyong grinned, skipping over to the two men. "Doctor Banner!" he shouted, starting to run over.

Bruce flinched, sitting up and dropping his glasses. He sniffed, rubbing at his eyes whilst Tony went to grab Taeyong and wrestle his son in his arms. Taeyong let his dad drag him down to lounge on the couch, but grinned up at the doctor. "Were you asleep?" Taeyong whispered.

"Yeah," Tony asked, an accusatory tone in his voice.

Bruce rubbed at his face, "I- I drifted."

"Where did I lose you?"

At least he looked somewhat ashamed. "Elevator in Switzerland."

Taeyong down at his dad. "What story?"

"Hammer."

"Ahhh," The boy nodded.

Bruce looked between both Starks before reaching down for his glasses. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm just not that kind of doctor. I'm not a therapist, it's not my training. I- I don't have the-"

"What? The time?" Tony stared at the man blankly.

"Temperament," Bruce said, with his little nervous face. Taeyong grinned, settling into his father's arms.

Tony blinked before he sighed. "Oh! You know, now that I think about it-- God, my original wounds. 1983, right?" Bruce just nodded, eyes already closed and a resigned look cast over his features. Taeyong snickered, covering his mouth. "I was fourteen years old and I still had a nanny. That was weird-"

NEXT TIME ON: Dawn of New Change

Taeyong looked over at the boy, he was a second-year intern who had recently graduated from Nanyang Technological University. He was interning at Stark Industries whilst getting his Ph.D. in Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology at Fordham University. What he was doing at Stark Industries? Taeyong didn't really know.

Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology really didn't look like it had anything to do with the giant brown block he was currently working on. Taeyong hummed, rolling on his spinny chair over to the intern, his name was Taeil