Innocent Laughter
“Pardon me, Captain Rogers,” JARVIS’ voice broke into the discussion Steve and Castiel were having about God and Heaven and inaccuracies in the Bible. Cas paused in his detailed expansion on the fate of the Tower of Babel and the origin of deviations in languages. He and Steve both looked at the communication device attached to Steve’s wrist, doubling as an analog watch.
“Yes, JARVIS?” Steve asked, leaning back in his chair at the library table. His face was resigned as he knew JARVIS would never interrupt any of them in the middle of a sentence unless something was urgent. And if he was being contacted instead of Tony, it probably involved the inventor.
“There has been an incident with Mr. Stark, Agent Barton, and Dean Winchester in storage room 7a that requires assistance.” Steve wasn’t really shocked to hear the AI even manage to sound exasperated, even as Steve sighed. When Cas’ brow furrowed just before he leapt up to hurry in that direction, Steve jumped up to follow, his heart speeding up.
“What should we be expecting?” He called out to the AI. When JARVIS hesitated, Steve picked up speed, but remained behind the angel as only Cas knew where 7a was.
“Dean!” Cas called out to his friend as they rounded a corner and then threw open a closed door on the left. They darted inside and then stopped, trying to take in what they were seeing. Cas gasped before saying his friend’s name more quietly, “Dean?”
Steve blinked hard, then looked around, as though looking for his friends to jump out and yell ‘surprise’. When no one appeared, he fully took in the room.
There were lots of metal racks, shelves filled with boxes marked with strange symbols or words that made no logical sense. The dim lighting showed them down the middle of the room where a table similar to the library one, but on a smaller scale, sat with chairs around it. Past the table, under the second dim, hanging bulb, was an open area where a box had been pulled out, the contents scattered, as though being searched. And on the floor, around the box, three toddlers. They were all naked except for oversized clothing that surrounded them.
Eerily, not a one was crying. Steve was wondering in amazement until he heard JARVIS’s soft voice coming from somewhere near one of the toddlers, who had a tablet in his hands, slapping the screen. The AI was singing a children’s lullaby, obviously ahead of the ball, and working to keep them all calm until help could arrive.
The toddler with the tablet, turned to look at Cas and Steve with his dark brown eyes. The toddler across the box from him, gurgled at them with bright green eyes, even as a toddler looking like a baby model. The one furthest back, crossed his chubby baby arms in a very familiar gesture, narrowing his blue/green eyes with a huff.
Cas shook his head and stepped forward to lift little Dean into his arms. Steve reached down and scooped up Tony and Clint, wonder in his eyes. Both of them had been very adorable little kids. Before he could stop him, Clint clambered up onto Steve shoulder to perch, with perfect balance so he could see everything. Tony simply babbled at Steve, but when Steve just stared in incomprehension, Tony huffed in consternation.
Dean reached up to tap against Cas’ cheek, babbling. He stared earnestly into the eyes of the angel, trying to impress whatever he was trying to convey. Cas reached his free hand up to lay on top of the sandy blond hair. He concentrated for a moment, Dean babbling more and more, as though he thought Cas was understanding him. When instead, Cas pulled his hand away and frowned, Dean squawked and threw his hands up.
“Dean, sit here. Let me get a closer look.” Cas put little Dean down on the table, his eyes darting around the room, looking for what had caused this. He caught little Dean’s pointing hand and followed the line to find an old, tarnished silver baby rattle half under the edge of one of the shelves, where it appeared to have rolled. He turned away to bend over to grab the rattle from under the shelf, but before he could get close enough, all three toddlers screamed, throwing up arms in Cas’ direction. Cas looked between the bell and the toddlers, then nodded in understanding. “I see. We will not touch it.”
“Castiel,” Steve asked, looking for more information.
“It seems,” Cas sighed, once again lifting up little Dean into his arms, “the baby rattle did this to them. It’s a cursed object. I can feel the demonic power on it even without touching it.” Steve’s eyes went wide, then he looked at each of the toddlers in turn, taking in the apology in Dean’s face, the frustration in Tony’s, and the anger in Clint’s. “Dean,” he looked down at the adorable boy in his arms. “That was the last box that Sam had pulled down for cataloging before he and Natasha left yesterday, isn’t it?”
Dean ducked his head but nodded.
“Hmm,” Cas hummed to himself. “I am certain that Sam was very clear that this room was off-limits because of the nature of his cataloging. All of these items in that box are demonic in nature and only someone with demon blood could safely handle them.” Dean began to babble quickly, shrugging his shoulders adorably, before he cut his eyes to where Clint glared at him and Tony gaped at him in surprise. Then he huffed and scrunched down, trying to hide his scowling face in Cas’ trenchcoat.
“While my lack of power currently keeps me from reading your mind, I get the feeling that all three of you still have your memories, even in these very young bodies.” When all three of then nodded, Cas hummed again. He looked down into the box, seeing no paperwork, only other random objects and some loose curse boxes. “This will definitely require Sam to help break the curse and seal away these objects.”
“JARVIS,” Steve called with a sigh. “Can you contact Natasha and Sam and find out when they are returning and please give them a heads up on what’s waiting for Sam when he returns?”
“Yes, sir,” the AI responded. “Although from Agent Romanov’s gps, it appears they are already on their way back towards the bunker. They are approximately 1.2 hours away. I will convey the situation.” Steve thanked him, then turned and walked out of the room, Cas following.
Clint sat on Steve’s shoulder, his tiny hand bunched in the collar of his shirt and huffed a breath every now and again. Tony, however, continued to babble and slapped at the tablet, upset that he couldn’t get it to function as he wanted it to. Dean had sunken into silence, a scowl on his face. They took the children first into one of the spare rooms, where Steve fashioned some hand towels into temporary diapers, then into the library so they could keep an eye on them until Sam returned to hopefully break the curse and return them to adults.
Tony dutifully sat in one of the luxurious leather chairs by the bookshelves and kept trying to get his tablet to work. Clint promptly climbed the bookshelves themselves and sat with his legs hanging down, swinging as he watched the room. Dean was placed in the other leather chair, with Cas and Steve retaking their seats at the table, turning so they could watch their friends.
“With them being little kids,” Steve began, “it’s amazingly quiet. I don’t remember any kids I knew to ever be this quiet.” Tony looked up at him and babbled something, then shook his head and went back to where he’d finally managed to open something on his tablet.
“Their bodies are children, but they are still their adult selves inside.” Cas consoled Steve. “The curse must have only reversed their ages, not their minds. I’m sure since Sam didn’t secure the box in the vault before he left, that the curse should be breakable. He would never leave something deadly out, even if it was in a secured storage room, with instructions not to go in there.” Dean turned a smug look at the two adults in the room. “And I’m beginning to suspect that Dean knew that and was only trying to impress Tony and Clint.”
There was a childish giggle from the top of the bookshelves and Dean threw up a swift gesture that a child that young should have no knowledge of. Even Tony giggled at that.
“I just hope Sam can figure it out and fix it. With Clint and Tony in toddler form, Thor off with Jane who knows where, if there’s an Avenger call out, it’s up to me, Natasha and Bruce.” Steve still held wonder in his eyes at the three little children. “I bet Bruce will be really happy that he stayed at the tower once he hears about this.” Cas nodded and as the children sat with a lot more patience than normal children, Steve and Cas conjectured on feeding and caring for the mini-heroes if Sam couldn’t fix them soon. There were glares as they discussed hiring babysitters, Cas suggesting Sam and Dean’s friends might help in a pinch.
When Castiel made an offhand suggestion of hiring Claire to come be a sort of nanny, Dean shook his head vehemently ‘no’. Steve asked who ‘Claire’ was.
“She is the daughter of my vessel,” Cas told him. Steve blinked and sputtered.
“You have a daughter?” Steve sputtered this out and Cas shook his head.
“No, she was Jimmy’s daughter before he became my vessel. She resented me a great deal for taking her father away from their family.” Steve caught the sadness in his tone. “In the beginning, I did not care that he had a family. But as I began to understand humanity more, I felt guilt and returned Jimmy to his family. But the demons came and took Amelia, his wife, and Claire. I could not let them be taken so I stepped in again and it cost Claire her mother’s life and Jimmy died as well. Sam and Dean helped Claire find a home with a friend of theirs who took in wayward girls who were victims of the supernatural and had no family.”
Cas was smiling gently, lost in his own thoughts, and did not notice that everyone was staring at him.
“Sheriff Mills has been wonderful with Claire and will Alex, another girl she took in after she saved her from vampires.” Cas tilted his head. “She is a wonderful surrogate parent to them.”
“How did this Sheriff Mills get involved with the supernatural?” Steve asked.
“Her dead son came back as a zombie, along with several townspeople, and Bobby Singer’s late wife.” Cas looked to where Dean was studiously staring down at the book of Latin translations in his lap and pretending not to hear. “The zombies appeared harmless until they began to kill and eat their living family members.” Here Clint, Tony, and Steve all grimaced. “Sam and Dean were able to put them all down. Sheriff Mills had to shoot her own son, but she became a good ally to Sam and Dean after that, helping them and Bobby out when it was needed.”
“Sounds like a good woman,” Steve said softly.
“She is,” came Sam’s voice from the hallway from the garage. He came striding into the room with Natasha close behind. “And I’m sure she’d love to take a crack at raising a smartass baby who already knows how to kick ass and take names.” He smirked, nodding at Steve and Cas, before turning to the three toddlers. Natasha had stopped and was scowling at all three of them. “Dean, was I not clear enough with the warning and the locked door that no one was supposed to go in that room?”
When Dean opened his mouth to give a babbled reply, indignation on his face, Sam held up his finger. He crouched down next to his little big brother.
“Uh-uh,” the tall brother grunted. “Lucky for you, I know exactly what that rattle is and how to break the curse. Also lucky for you, we happen to have all the ingredients needed in the infirmary.” There was a collective sigh of relief. Sam stood up, smiling, reaching into his back pocket. “But I do need one more thing.”
Really, Dean should have guessed it sooner, but before he could even make a sound in question, Sam whipped out his cell phone and began snapping pictures of toddlers Dean, Clint, and Tony. Behind him, Natasha was now openly smiling and doing the same with her cell phone.
“Clint, Tony, you two are just adorable!” Natasha cooed at them. Both baby Avengers were wide-eyed and red faced, but Natasha only snapped a few before she put it away. “This is to remind you all later what ‘Do not touch’ means when it comes to supernatural items.” She crossed to the bookshelf and held up her arms, baby Clint pushing off and landing neatly in her arms. She snuggled him even as he pushed against her with grunts. “And I think Laura will agree that when Cooper was a baby, he looked just like his dad as a baby.” Clint huffed, but then smirked and leaned against her.
Sam reached to pick up Dean, but his brother wasn’t having it and slapped Sam’s hands away, causing Sam to laugh and raise his hands in defense, before turning to Steve and Cas.
“Take them into the infirmary and I’ll go get the rattle so we can get this over with. Cas, can you pull out the standard ingredients for a basic curse, as well as some spider silk and brick dust?” Cas thought, then nodded. Sam turned and jogged out of the room to fetch the rattle, leaving Natasha with Clint, Cas picking up Dean, and Steve with Tony. They went into the infirmary and sat all three on one bed, Natasha and Steve just staring at the kids, while Cas gathered up the bronze bowl and the ingredients Sam had requested.
After a few moments, Sam came back, carrying an armload of clothing, as well as a curse box. When Cas raised an eyebrow, Sam shrugged.
“I assume since they’re wearing makeshift diapers, their clothes didn’t shrink with them. And when it’s broken, they’ll need their adult clothes.”
“Thank you for thinking of that,” Steve told him. Sam shrugged one shoulder, but sent a sideways glance and smirk at the kids once more.
“Okay, you guys sure you want to be changed back?” Sam reached to poke Dean in the tummy and got his hand swatted away by a glaring, babbling toddler. Sam could guess it was probably a lot of swearing and chuckled. He glanced at Natasha slyly, her wink barely noticeable.
Joining Cas at the metal table, they added each ingredient, then he opened the curse box and dropped the rattle into the bowl with them. When Cas gave him a questioning look, Sam glanced at him as he lay the now empty box to the side.
“Just because I have demon blood doesn’t mean it might not still affect me, so why take the chance?” Cas nodded at him.
Sam took a breath, then began the incantation, snapping the match alight, then dropping it into the bowl. There was a flare of blue flame and gray smoke as he continued reciting the Latin for the spell. On the last word, there was a rumble like thunder, then a bright white light flared up, causing them all the close their eyes and turn away from it. Once the light had subsided, each of them blinked and looked around.
Sitting on the edge of the bed were now three adult, completely naked men, as the makeshift diapers had flown off in the rapid expansion of their forms. Steve blushed and turned his head away quickly, but Natasha smiled and looked her fill. Sam laughed as the three men scrambled to grab their items from the pile of clothes on the bed behind them to get dressed. He also jokingly, stepped up and held up a hand in front of Natasha’s eyes, winking at her behind his hand. She smirked and raised a hand to pat his chest.
“Thank god,” Tony huffed, as he was pulling his pants up. “Those darn baby arms weren’t following my commands and I thought I’d go crazy without being able to use technology.” Clint was pulling his shirt over his chest, having already gotten himself completely dressed.
“Not sure Laura would find it cute that she lost a husband and gained another baby, Nat,” he growled at her. She only winked at him conspiratorially. His eyes widened marginally before he figured it out. “You knew Sam could fix it,” he accused, pointing a finger at her. Dean and Tony looked up from putting their shirts on and looked between Clint and Natasha. Then between Natasha and Sam. Clint was looking humorously betrayed.
“Sam?” Dean growled, as he pulled his boots back on. Sam raised his hands and began backing towards the infirmary door slowly, a grin growing on his face until it broke into a full, dimpled smile. “Did you know that was going to happen? Was this your idea of a joke?” He took a step towards his brother.
“In my defense,” Sam laughed, “I had already cataloged that box and knew everything in it was relatively safe. I just didn’t know which one of you it would get.” Dean began to walk faster towards him, his fists clenched.
“’Relatively safe’?” He yelled. Sam turned and darted out the door, Dean running behind him.
“That’s what you get for loosening the bolts on my bed,” Sam yelled over his shoulder as he rounded the corner and dove down the hallway, hair flying out behind him. Dean roared and raced after him. They could hear Sam’s laughter ringing down the hallway as the brothers chased each other.
Natasha laughed and then noticed the others were glaring at her. She put up her hands and shook her head.
“He didn’t let me in on it until we were on our way to the B&B,” she smiled.
Tony rolled his eyes and walked away. Steve looked horrified that this was the kind of prank the brothers played on each other. Clint stared hard at her for a moment before throwing his arm around her shoulders and walking her out of the room. Cas simply sighed, like it was any other day.