keep you safe (forever and ever)

september thirteenth

Tony had noticed a drastic difference in the children in the two weeks that they had had school so far. There were less fights and less crying, but a lot more backtalk and complaining. Carol had repeatedly reassured Tony that this was actually a good thing- the kids were beginning to feel secure enough to voice their unhappiness, and so he tried to view it as such, even though it was hard when Bucky was flat-out refusing to do his math homework for the third night in a row. 

His main problem right now was the media. Pepper had been doing an amazing job handling it so far, but they got more pushy every day, and Tony couldn’t blame them. He would be confused if all the superheroes suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth too. He was growing increasingly paranoid that one of the kids was going to figure out what was going on, and as a result he heavily monitored their internet usage, making sure to steer them away from any news sites.

Overall, though, Tony was happy with how things were going. Clint had been talking a lot more, and now it was hard to get him to be quiet sometimes. Steve and Bucky were always busy with their after-school activities, so they had stopped fighting quite so much at home. Natasha was still reserved, but she and her friend Peter seemed to be joined at the hip these days, whether it was at school or football practice, and she seemed content.

Of course, Tony couldn’t have predicted how September thirteenth would go.

It was bad from the second he woke up- Wanda had been up a record three times last night and so he had overslept, which by extension meant that the whole household had overslept. He frantically woke up Peter first and then the others, but most of them had also been woken up by Wanda’s screams at two in the morning and were extremely cranky and slow-moving.

“Sam!” Tony burst into his room for a third time. “Come on, you’re going to be late to school!”

“I don’t want to go!” Sam screamed from under his blankets. Tony pulled the blankets off and tried to pick him up, but Sam clung to the headboard with all his strength. “No! I’m not going! I hate it! I hate you!”

“You don’t get a choice,” Tony grunted, wrestling his pajamas off and jamming pants on.

“You’re not my real uncle!” Sam screamed. “Don’t touch me!” 

“Mr. Tony!” Bucky hollered from the hallway. “Come quick! Steve’s having an asthma attack!”

“Shit!” Tony swore, leaping up. “Sam, you better be dressed by the time I come back in here!” He sprinted down the hallway. 

“Mr. Tony!” Bucky was in hysterics by the time he skidded into Steve’s room. “Steve can’t breathe! He’s going to die!” Bucky’s face crumpled and he began sobbing.

“He’s not going to die,” Tony panted, digging through Steve’s nightstand. “Where the fuck is his inhaler? Peter!”

“What?” Peter screamed from down the hall.

“Where’s Steve’s inhaler?”

“I don’t know! Check his backpack, I’m dealing with Wanda! She’s crying again!” 

“Here!” Bucky said. Steve was shaking and beginning turning blue. Tony hastily jammed the inhaler into his mouth, harder than he meant to.

“Okay, deep breaths, you’re okay,” he said, rubbing Steve’s back. “Bucky, go get dressed. You have to go to school today.”

“I’m not going if Steve’s not going,” Bucky said.

“Steve is going, and I’m not arguing. Go.” Tony pointed towards the door. “And go get Sam out of bed if he’s not, please?”

“What about Natasha and Clint?” Bucky asked.

“They’re not up either?” Tony moaned.

Bucky peeked into the hallway. “Clint is, but Natasha isn’t,” he reported. “Also Clint isn’t wearing clothes.”

“Then get Natasha up too. And tell them both to get dressed. Steve, are you feeling better?” 

“I guess.” Steve shrugged, but his breath was definitely coming easier. “Do I have to go to school?”

“Yes!” Tony said a little more sharply than intended. “Everyone has to go to school! What is going on today? I know you guys are tired, but that’s not an excuse.”

“Fine,” Steve said sullenly. “Get out so I can get dressed, then.”

“Don’t talk to me like that,” Tony warned. 

“Okay, stay,” Steve said. He scowled and set his jaw, and oh, that face was pure Captain America. “Be a pedophile. I don’t care.”

“Enough, Steve,” Tony sighed, vaguely wondering if sobriety was really a healthy lifestyle choice. “Just get ready. I can’t argue with you right now. I need to go deal with the other kids.”

“Dad!” Peter called. “I need some help with Wanda!” Tony ran into Natasha in the hallway on his way. Her eyes were half-closed and she was scowling.

“Natasha, go get dressed.”

“No.”

“Then you’re wearing your pajamas to school,” Tony threatened weakly. She shrugged and shut the door to the bathroom in his face.

“I want to wear pajamas to school!” Bucky said from his room. Tony chose to ignore him.

“What’s going on, Peter?” Peter looked up at him wearily from where he was trying to dress a howling Wanda. 

“Um, she’s upset. Clearly.” He tried to stroke her hair but she jerked away from him, wailing. Little rivulets of snot were running down her face, and Tony shuddered.

“Great,” Tony muttered. “If you can’t get her dressed, then just forget it. You can stay home with her while I drive the others.” There was a loud crash. “What was that?”

“Bucky and Sam fell down the stairs!” Clint hollered. 

“Shit!” Tony skidded around the corner to the stairwell. “Are you guys okay?”

“I fell on my wrist,” Bucky moaned from the bottom. Sam wasn’t talking at all. 

“Sam?” Tony said. Sam turned his head but didn’t respond. “Goddamnit.”

“I think he’s dead,” Bucky shrieked, holding his wrist and beginning to cry again.

“He’s not dead,” Tony said, trying and failing to suppress an eye roll. “For God’s sake, he just moved, Bucky. Let me look at him.” He crouched down. 

“M’head hurts,” Sam mumbled, closing his eyes. “M’sleepy.”

“Fuck,” Tony swore. “Okay, we have to go to the hospital.”

“No,” Sam groaned. He pushed himself into a sitting position, swayed, and then vomited all over himself.

“Yes,” Tony said. “Absolutely yes. You clearly have a concussion, and we should get your wrist looked at, Bucky.” He paused and looked at everyone else, who had gathered at the top of the stairs. Natasha in her pajamas and unbrushed hair. Clint completely naked with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, tears in his eyes. Steve in only pants, wheezing heavily again. And Peter in his pajamas, struggling to keep a grip on a crying Wanda. 

“Pete, call the school and tell them that no one’s coming in today. And for the love of God, Clint, please put on some underwear.” At least that last statement made Bucky laugh. Tony would take the small victory.

“I don’t like doctors,” Sam whined, twisting in Tony’s lap to stare at him. They had been waiting in the emergency room for over an hour. The receptionist had deemed their injuries non-essential and told them to take a seat. Unfortunately for the kids, and Tony’s head, there wasn’t much to do in the waiting room. Except, apparently, complaining. There was plenty of that happening.

“I don’t know why I have to be here,” Steve grumped, crossing his skinny arms over his chest. “Natasha and Clint got to stay with Peter.”

“For the last time, if we’re going to be here anyway then it makes sense to get your asthma checked out,” Tony said in exasperation. “I’ve said that three times already.”

“But it’s not fair that they get to stay home and play games! They should have had to come with us!” Steve insisted. 

“I’ve already said that I don’t like when you say that things aren’t fair,” Tony reprimanded gently. “They’re not sick or hurt, so there’s no reason to bring them. They would just be in the way of people who actually need treatment.”

“I’m not sick or hurt,” Bucky complained. 

Tony eyed his swollen wrist skeptically. “Somehow I doubt that.” He checked his watch and sighed. “Look, guys, it’s only 10 in the morning. We’ll be home soon, and if you’re good then we’ll stop to get a treat on the way back.”

Sam perked up. “McDonalds?”

“Maybe,” Tony said. “Stop moving. You’re going to hurt your head worse.” Sam pouted but sat still.

“What do you think they’re doing at home?” Steve asked. 

“Something really boring,” Tony said quickly. Anything to stop Steve going off on another tangent about how much more fun the house was.

Thankfully, Bucky seemed to agree. “Yeah! I bet they’re just taking a nap and waiting for us to get back!”

“Natasha! Clint!” Peter whisper-shouted, trying not to wake up Wanda, who had finally fallen asleep on his lap. “Stop jumping on the couch!” Natasha stuck out her tongue at him. “One of you is going to get hurt! You saw what happened to Bucky and Sam!”

“I’m careful!” Natasha bragged. “Just because my brothers are stupid doesn’t mean I am!” Peter’s eyes widened at that statement, and he decided to ignore the name calling.

“Did you just call them your brothers?” he asked carefully. Natasha finally paused in her bouncing, but Clint kept going.

“Yes.” She paused. “They’re kind of like my brothers, right?” 

“Well, yeah,” Peter said. “Yeah, sure.” Natasha eyed him and then shrugged. 

“Clint is my favorite brother.”

“Don’t pick favorites,” Peter said. “You can love all of them the same.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t love them.”

“I love you, Natasha,” Clint said, grinning and poking her in the side.

She frowned, but the twitch of her lips betrayed her amusement. “Fine. I only love Clint. I’m...okay with the others.” 

Peter let it go for now. “If you guys stop jumping, we can watch a movie. How does that sound?”

“Nope!” Clint said. “This is more fun!” He whacked Natasha with a pillow, and she squealed, jumping onto one of the loveseats to get away.

“What about a blanket fort?” Peter tried. The kids paused and turned to him.

“What’s a blanket fort?” Natasha asked. 

Peter’s eyes widened and he gently lifted Wanda off of his lap and onto the couch next to him. “You don’t know what a blanket fort is? Come here.” Clint and Natasha moved closer to him, watching intently, as he began grabbing chairs from the dining room. “So we use the chairs as supports, and then we drape blankets over them.” They quickly got into it, and in no time the fort was built. Peter was proud of himself. 

“I’m going to stay in here forever!” Clint announced, diving inside.

“Me too!” Natasha said. Peter blew out a relieved sigh as they finally quieted down and began reading their books. Percy Jackson for Natasha, and Little Women for Clint. Wanda was still napping, luckily, and he pulled out his phone to snap a quick photo to send to Shuri.

Peter: image.jpg

Peter: i think im a full fledged big brother now

Principessa: omg

Principessa: tell stark to let me visit

Principessa: ill help babysit

Peter: ill ask him

Peter: i havent seen u in so long 

Principessa: we literally spent five years together in the soul stone tho

Peter: ya thats why its so weird not seeing u anymore

Peter: cant u just show up

Peter: its not like my dad can kick u out ur literally next in line for the throne of the most advanced country in the world

Principessa: aww i miss u too

Principessa: did u just call stark ur dad

Peter: oh shit habit

Peter: i have to call him dad in front of the kids or they get sus

Principessa: its cute that u think thats the only reason

Principessa: ask stark abt the visit i have to go

Peter: no whyy we just started talking

Peter: and im just going to ignore that other text

Principessa: im designing a pill that u can take so ur body doesnt need sleep anymore

Principessa: im halfway there already

Peter: legit cant tell if ur joking

Peter: shuri?

“How many chicken nuggets do you want?” Tony asked from the front seat as they pulled into the McDonald’s drive through. 

“A hundred!” Bucky responded, picking at a loose thread on his sling.

“Okay, as a guide, you usually have around eight,” Tony sighed. “Leave your sling alone. If I have to tell you again you’re going to be my clean-up helper after dinner tonight.”

Bucky looked pensive. “Thirty.”

“I’m ordering ten for you,” Tony decided. “Steve and Sam?”

“Two hamburgers?” Steve asked, concentrating on drawing something on Bucky’s cast with a Sharpie Tony had found on the floor of the car. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know why that was there.

“Sure.”

“Can I get a milkshake?” Sam asked. “I’m not hungry.”

“Okay, if you wa-”
“Wait, can I get a milkshake too?” Bucky interrupted.

“Um.” Tony considered. “Sure, why not? And what do you think Natasha and Clint want?”

“Chicken nuggets!” Steve said. “And fries!”

“And I know Peter wants a couple of Big Macs,” Tony said. He quickly gave the order to the speaker and pulled up to the next window. “Sam, keep those sunglasses on!”

“The doctor said my concussion wasn’t that bad,” Sam complained, sliding the black sunglasses back on reluctantly.

“Well, it’s better safe than sorry, especially because you threw up.” Tony said firmly. “It’s important to protect your brain.”
“Too bad Steve didn’t fall down the stairs,” Bucky muttered darkly. “He doesn’t have a brain to be injured.”

“Asshole!” Steve smacked Bucky in his non-injured arm.

“Hey!” Tony cut in. “Do you two want to go back in the shirt when we get home?” The shirt was actually a discipline tactic that he had found online while at the end of his rope one day. Every time Steve and Bucky fought and Tony had to step in, he simply went and got the extra-large men’s shirt he had ordered specifically for this reason and made them both get inside. The amount of fighting that Tony had to resolve went down immediately, and Tony was very proud of himself. The other kids also found it hilarious, which only made Steve and Bucky more determined not to have to wear it, and just the threat of it usually got them to shut up pretty quickly. This time was no different.

“Sorry Mr. Tony,” Bucky said. “Sorry Steve.”

“Sorry,” Steve mumbled. Tony accepted it.

“Can I hold the food on the way home?” Bucky asked.

“No. I want-” Steve cut himself off. “Never mind.”

“Good conflict resolution, Steve!” Tony praised. Carol had said that it was good to acknowledge progress, but based on the weird looks he was now getting, it seemed like maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut. 

“It’s Natasha’s birthday on Sunday,” Sam suddenly announced. Tony whipped his head around and inadvertently jerked the steering wheel to the left. Steve jumped, but Bucky had his face buried in the food bags and didn’t seem to be paying much attention.

“What?” Tony said. “How do you know?”

“Because she told us,” Sam said. 

“Okay, okay.” Tony thought about it. “So we need to have a party for her, right? We’ll have to talk about it when we get home and ask her what she’d like to do.” He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought to check and see if any of them had a birthday coming up. Lost in his thoughts, the drive home passed quickly. “Guess who brought McDonalds?” Tony announced as he stepped through the doorway. A blur of red came flying out of the living room, shortly followed by Clint with his face in a book.

“Give me!” Natasha said, tugging on the bag.

“Hang on,” Tony said. “Where’s Peter? Let’s all eat together.”

“Okay,” Natasha agreed readily. “Can we watch Frozen?”

“We’ve seen that movie a thousand times,” Bucky groaned. “Isn’t there something else?”

“Lion King!” Clint said. 

“Something not Disney,” Bucky clarified, but a smile was tugging at the corners of his mouth as they walked into the living room. Peter gave them a wave and put a finger to his lips, gesturing at Wanda who was, blessedly, sleeping. Tony knew that this would only mess her sleep schedule up more, but he was so thankful for the quiet that he just sighed and hushed the others. Natasha snatched the remote and turned on the TV.

“-gers are still missing,” a woman was saying as she gestured at photos of the team. 

Shit. Fuck. Fuck it all. Tony grabbed for the remote, but he could tell by the looks of horror on the kids’ faces that they recognized themselves.

“Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton- could they be hiding together? This sudden disappearance has only fueled the rumors that these two assassins are in a secret relationship.”

Natasha made an awful whimpering sound, her eyes fixed on the TV, and Clint looked horrified. 

“I kill people?” he said.

“No- yes- give me the remote-” Tony floundered, but Natasha picked it up and hurled it at the wall.

“Is-is that where I got my metal arm?” Bucky said, shaking. “It wasn’t a car accident, was it?”
“You lied to us!” Steve shrieked.

“I thought I was going to be a good person,” Natasha said quietly. Her eyes were glossy. “I thought someone saved me from the Red Room. But no one did, did they? I grew up and became a killer anyway.”

Tony finally grabbed the remote and shut it off. He looked around, taking in five terrified gazes and Peter’s resigned look. “I’m sorry.” Clint’s head snapped up from where he had been resolutely staring at a spot on the floor. Clearly, none of the kids had expected him to say that. “I should have told you guys the truth, but I didn’t know how to break it to you or if you would even believe me, and you were all scared enough already.”

“I’m a bad person,” Bucky mumbled.

“No,” Tony said firmly. “None of you are bad people. A lot of you have had bad things done to you, but in the end, you all became very, very good people.”

“So you knew us?” Steve said. “When we were old?” 

“Yeah, I did.” Tony tilted his head as he contemplated something. “Wow, you guys are all taking this really well.”

“I mean, it wasn’t like the excuse you gave made much sense,” Bucky said. He rolled his eyes and deepened his voice to imitate Tony. “Yeah, so, um, all of your parents died and you’re coming with me, and also it’s 2024, and that’s as good of an explanation as I can give, no more questions-”

“All right!” Tony interrupted, laughing. The others were also looking happier, and Bucky beamed. “I guess we should have told you.”

“I mean, it all makes sense now,” Clint said. “We were deaged and now we just have to wait for it to go back to normal.”

“Can we still go to school?” Natasha asked.

“Of course!” Tony said immediately. “You can’t tell anybody about, well, this-” he gestured vaguely- “but it might be a while before you become adults again, so I want you all to just enjoy being kids. No responsibilities.” The kids nodded as the mood became somber again. 

“So it’s like a do-over childhood,” Natasha said, nodding decisively. “To make up for the one we never got.”

Tony nodded. “You can think of it like that if you want.”

“Do you think we’ll remember this when we’re old again?” she asked.

“I hope so,” Tony responded truthfully. “You deserve to remember.”

“Mr. Tony?” Bucky asked. His face was open, vulnerable, and Tony suddenly felt a rush of paternal affection for him. “If I’m actually an adult-” he broke off, and a smirk slowly grew over his face. “I don’t have to do homework, right?”

“You still have to do homework,” Tony confirmed. “And also, I just want to say that while I understand that you guys are curious about your old lives, I’m not going to be sharing any more. I don’t want that to be what you’re thinking about. Focus on being kids.”

“Fine,” Steve said. “Can we eat now?”

“Of course.” That seemed to be all the cue that the kids needed, because the bags were immediately set upon with grabby hands. Once everyone was situated with food, Tony turned to the more pressing issue. “Natasha, I heard that it’s your birthday on Sunday. How would you like to celebrate?”
“Um.” Natasha looked completely overwhelmed. “I don’t know.”

“Would you like to go somewhere?” Peter cut in. “We can start there.”

“Aquarium!” Sam said loudly. 

“Waterpark?” Clint asked. He jabbed Natasha. “Say waterpark!”

“The...zoo?” Natasha said tentatively. “I’ve never been. It might be fun.”

“Great!” Tony said. “Would you like to invite Peter?”

“Can I invite Gamora?” Bucky interrupted. 

“Well, then I want to invite Wade!” Clint added.

“Guys,” Tony said, a warning clear in his tone.

“No, I don’t want to invite Peter,” Natasha said. 

Tony frowned. “Did something happen?” 

“No.” Natasha looked around tentatively and took a deep breath. “I just- kind of- want to spenditwithmyfamily.” 

Tony’s mouth fell open and he quickly shut it with a snap. Peter was looking misty eyed. “That’s so nice,” he said, reaching for Natasha. Surprisingly, she went willingly into Peter’s embrace, smiling from ear to ear.

“Oh, and I want chocolate cupcakes.”

“Done!” After that, there were no more words as Tony put on A New Hope for the kids and quickly felt his eyes begin to droop. Yawning, he tilted his head back and was just drifting off when he felt a warm weight on his side. Looking down, he saw Sam pressing his face into Tony’s shirt. Hesitantly, Tony raised his arm and settled it lightly on the boy’s back, and five minutes later he was asleep. (Yes, Peter did take photos.)

“Can Shuri come to visit?” Peter asked that night as the kids were getting ready for bed. 

“Shuri, huh?” Tony gave him an assessing glance. “You like her?”

Peter’s whole face turned an interesting shade of scarlet. “No! I mean, yes, of course I like her, but in a best friend way. Not that I think dating her would be bad! Actually, I’m sure dating her would be the opposite of bad, it’s just that-”

“Whoa, kid, slow down,” Tony said, holding up a hand. “I was just teasing. She can come visit if you want.”

“Really?” Peter grinned. “Thanks, Dad! I’ll let her know right now!” He practically sprinted to his room, and Tony smiled, pushing open Natasha’s door to check on her.

“Hey, Tasha. You ready for bed?” 

“Yeah.” Natasha was already under the covers, but her eyes were wide open. “Mr. Tony?”

“What’s up?” Tony ran a hand over her hair gently.

“Can I call you Dad?” Tony didn’t know what his face looked like, but based on Natasha’s reaction, it probably wasn’t very pleasant-looking. “It’s just that I’ve never had a dad before, and I’d really like one, even though I know this isn’t real-”

“Of course you can call me dad,” Tony said, and he was surprised to find that he meant it. “And this is real, it’s reality, isn’t it?” 

“Okay.” Natasha was silent for a moment. “Thanks.”

“You don’t have to thank me.” Tony hovered for a moment, decided why not, and leaned over to kiss her forehead. Natasha’s eyes were closed, but he could see them crinkle in pleasure. “Good night, Tasha.” He was almost to the door when he heard her response.

“Good night, Dad.” Yeah, he could get used to this.