Chapter 4
MILES
Miles was sprawled across the couch, head in his Dad’s lap while they watched cartoons together Sunday morning. His Pop had gone on his second run of the day and had somehow convinced Emerson to join him. Miles had opted out in favor of mindless television while the older genius fiddled on his tablet, his glasses at the end of his nose.
Something had been nagging him in the back of his mind, and he’d been wanting to talk to his Dad about it for a while.
“Hey Dad,” the teen said, head not moving from the older man’s lap.
“Hey son,” the genius said, eyes not moving from the tablet but a smile appearing on his face. He also shifted the tablet to one hand, using the other to start rubbing the teen’s shoulder.
“Can I ask you something?” he asked, finally looking up at the man who suddenly looked down at his son.
“Always,” his Dad said with a smile and a hint of concern in his eyes.
“It’s about your parents…”
“Oh,” the man said, an air of sadness suddenly surrounding him.
“I was just wondering...if they were alive, do you think they’d like us? Their grandkids?” he asked, remembering the pictures he’d seen of them the other day. His Dad was smiling above him, putting his tablet to the side before Miles realized what was happening.
The ridiculous man bent over to plant a kiss on the teen’s temple before scooping his arms around him to hold him close. Miles squawked a little but laughed nonetheless, realizing he should’ve known his Dad better than that, even if he had three inches on the man...the older man still wiggled the two back until Miles was splayed across his chest, laughing at his new position of the two laying out on the couch.
“What makes you ask that my little Flower?” his Dad asked as he tightly hugged the teen. Miles wasn’t completely aware of his father’s past, even if he knew the vagueness of it - just about everyone had kept it a secret when asked. He just knew it was bad.
“Curiosity,” Miles replied with a shrug of his shoulder. His Dad hummed a little and when Miles leaned his head back to sneak a look at his Dad - he saw the man was genuinely thinking it over.
“Well, my mother would’ve loved you guys. You probably would’ve called her Nonna - it’s Italian for grandma - and she would’ve spoiled each and every one of you. You probably the most actually,” his Dad added with a kiss to the boy’s head. “She was the youngest of three, so she had a soft spot for the baby of the family...” he trailed off with a small smile, as if he was picturing the image.
“And your father?” Miles asked quietly, knowing this was a delicate topic with him. His Dad was always hugging him and his siblings and telling all three ‘I love you’ multiple times a day. Miles had figured out a while back that this was partly because of Howard. Sure enough, the older man went rigid below him.
“You know what?” the man began, relaxing after taking a deep breath in and out. “I think he actually would’ve liked you guys. He probably wouldn’t have been as warm as my mom, but I think since you’re all smart kids he’d at least tolerate your presence.” Both Miles and Tony laughed at that, their attention turning towards the sound of the elevator opening.
“Never...again!” they heard Emerson shout, the girl making her way into the living room looking like she was about to collapse. And his sweaty sister did collapse, knees first before face-planting on the plush carpet next to them.
Their Pop followed closely behind, barely looking like he broke a sweat as he rolled his eyes at his daughter.
“Don’t be so dramatic, we had a fun run!”
“No such thing!” both his Dad and sister shouted at the same time, getting a giggle from Miles and an eye roll from his Pops. The super soldier’s gaze fell on the couch cuddlers, his expression turning curious as Emerson just let out an endless groan from the carpet.
“Everything okay?” he asked the two, walking over to sit next to them.
“Yeah, Miles was just asking me about his grandparents. You wanna ask your Pops about his?” his Dad asked as he finally released his hold on the teen, sitting up to check on Em. “Steve did you kill my girl?” he asked in offense as he shifted off the couch to sit next to her.
“She’ll live,” the blonde said with a shrug as he turned to Miles, nodding to him to let him know he had his attention.
“I was asking Dad if he thought his parents would’ve liked us-” Emerson snorted into the carpet “-and am...also curious if your parents would’ve...Em why did you just snort?” he asked in curiosity.
“No reason, I’m dying little brother cut me some slack.”
“Can you still call me little when I’m six inches taller than you?”
“Yes.”
“What’d you tell him, Tony?” his Pop asked, poking the teen to get his attention.
“That my mom would’ve loved them and Howard would’ve tolerated them.”
“That’s a lie, Howard wouldn’t have liked me,” the dying woman groaned out.
“That’s not true Em, why would you say that?” their Pops asked, almost in shock. He watched his poor sister struggle to flip over, laying out like a starfish and taking a few breaths before responding.
“Two things. One,” she counted with one finger in the air, “I’m too much like Dad. And two,” a second finger joined the first, “he was a misogynistic prick. You two he probably would’ve liked. Though I wanna say Peter more than you cause he was also probably a racist ass-”
“-OKay maybe that run wasn’t as bad as you think if you’re able to rant like that!” their Pops interrupted. “And Miles, to answer your question: my Ma would’ve loved and spoiled the hell out of all of you,” the blonde said pointedly to the starfish, before turning back to Miles. “And my Pop died when I was a baby - but according to my Ma’s stories, he would’ve done the same.” Miles smiled at the blonde, watching the man look away as if he was lost in the thought of it. .
“I need fluids,” Emerson dramatically rasped out, lifting one hand in the air for extra effect.
“Go get our daughter some water you workout fiend,” Dad said to Pop who rolled his eyes before getting up to go to the kitchen. Miles laughed as he watched him go before flipping over to look at his dying sister.
“I think he was trying to kill me, Dad,” Emerson whispered harshly, getting another chuckle out of the teen.
“He’s a monster, isn’t he baby? Want me to divorce him?” Dad cooed at her, petting some of the hair out of her face.
“It wasn’t that bad! She had fun, she’s just dramatic like her father,” Pops groaned out as he came back into view, handing his husband the cup full of water with a bendy straw. Miles laughed again when his Pops lifted the teen’s legs up to sit on the couch next to him and heard his sister pout.
“I vow on my wife I will never run with you again,” Emerson muttered before taking huge sips of water.
“Yup, made the same promise after our atrocious seventh date,” Dad added in a sing song voice. His Pops shifted to try and smack him, but his Dad saw it coming and shifted with a giggle.
“You shut your mouth,” Pops hissed, holding Miles’ legs and instead using his long legs to pinch the man with his toes. Dad shrieked in both laughter and pain, flailing his arms out to swat his husband in return. Which included swatting the teen who yelped before moving to get out of their line of fire.
“Really?” Miles asked with a laugh, grabbing a nearby pillow and smacking the two with it to get them to stop.
“Hey!”
“Ow!”
“Enough rough housing children,” Miles chuckled as his Dads settled...which meant his Dad joining his Pops and him on the couch. Which made the two cuddle up, which almost had Miles asking them to fight again. “Can we just sit still, be adults, and watch some cartoons?”
“You are not an adult,” Dad grumbled at him.
“Just watch cartoons without molesting your husband or scarring your children. That’s all I ask,” Miles snarked at him. “Or else I’ll be forced to join Emerson on the floor. Looks comfy down there, how you doing Em?”
“Toss me a pillow, I’m going to take a nap down here.”
“Emerson, honey if you’re sleepy you should go lie in your bed,” Pops suggested.
“My legs no longer work, you killed them. So unless you wanna carry me to my room, toss me a pillow and shut your pie hole.”
“I’ll carry you I don’t mind,” Pops said, moving to stand up until his sister waved him down.
“No, no I wanna be here just asleep. Jeez first you try to murder me now you want me out of family time?”
“Say the word, baby, and I’ll have JARVIS order the divorce papers,” Dad said straight faced, immediately laughing when Pops dug his fingers into the man’s ribs.
“Emerson stop egging him on, cause if they get divorced, I'll have to choose the better cook to live with and Dad might cry,” Miles sassed, tossing Emerson his pillow.
“You little brat! Would you really pick him if we divorce!?”
“We are not getting divorced! And Emerson, sweetheart your back is going to hurt if you sleep on a hard surface,” Pop intervened. “There’s still room on the couch.”
“Like, ninety eight percent asleep, Pop,” Emerson groaned into the pillow. “And like I said, my legs don’t work.”
“Well now you’re just exaggerating,” the blonde said as he stood up off the couch and walked over to the passed out woman. “Can you really not walk?” he asked in a more sympathetic tone, hands on his hips as she brought her face up to glare at the man.
“No, Jesse Owens, I can’t.”
“Hey! Good reference Thumper, I totally got that one,” Pops said as the other three collectively groaned at him. “Whatever. If I took away your legs, I don’t want you whining later that your back hurts too,” the blonde said with a huff, bending over and unceremoniously picking Emerson up into his arms. She let out a shriek when he did, followed by a huff when he put her down on the couch next to him.
He and Dad watched fondly as Pop grabbed a nearby blanket and pillow to snuggle Emerson up in before pulling her to cuddle up against his side.
“Running releases endorphins, I was trying to make you happy,” Pops grumbled as he made himself more comfortable, dragging his Dad back to lean on his other side.
“Well then let me make a formal announcement, running has never and will never make me happy,” Emerson spat out, though still snuggled against Pop’s side. Miles laughed as his sister’s antics before snuggling up to his Dad’s side.
He wondered briefly if it was childish to still cuddle with his parents, then looked at his sister, then decided to just watch cartoons with his family.