Chapter 29
Third Person’s POV-
“Oh fuck.” Will said and the crying just got louder.
“Will what the hell is going on in there.” Nate said before walking in to his room. “Why is there a crying baby on the floor?”
“I’m still trying to figure that out. I fell asleep with Hayley next to me woke up with that.” Will yelled out over the cries.
“Do something!” Nate said.
“How do I get it to stop crying?” Will said.
“I don’t know, you had a kid brother what did your mom do when he cried?” Nate said.
“Check his diaper?” Will said.
“Please tell me she’s toilet trained.” Nate said.
“Mama!” the girl cried.
“Okay, Okay.” Will said gently picking her up and keeping her at arms length. The toddler just hung awkwardly in his arms.
“She looks a lot like Hayley.” Nate said.
“I think that is Hayley.” Will said putting the girl who was wearing nothing but an oversized Def Leoppard T shirt in nate’s reluctant arms before going over to Hayley/Nate’s room and opening up the nightstand drawer. He looked through it before finally finding what he was looking for. It was the only photo Hayley had of her mom holding a two-year-old Hayley, the very same toddler in the other room. “Shit.”
Will quickly grabbed his phone and dialed Natasha.
“Morning.” Natasha greeted.
“We have a problem.” Will said.
“Is Hayley okay?” Natasha asked.
“Depends on your definition of okay, you need to get over here now.” Will said.
“I’m on my way.” Natasha said before hanging up.
“Will I need a hand over here.” Nate said as Hayley started crying.
“I’m going.” Will said.
Avenger’s Tower-
“We need to go.” Natasha said as soon as she hung up on Will.
“What’s going on?” Tony asked.
“Is Hayley Okay?” Clint asked.
“Not sure Will just said we needed to get over there fast.” Natasha said.
“The tests from yesterday were all clear.” Bruce said. “She should be fine.”
“We must hurry, Hayley may be in danger.” Thor said.
They all ran down to the garage and got into the SUV they all usually used. The drive to the apartment seemed like an eternity. As soon as the car pulled up to the curb they all ran out and up the stairs.
“Wah!” They heard someone cry.
“Hayley!” Will yelled. That was all they needed before they kicked the door open and stormed in.
“Ah!” Nate shouted.
“AH!” a kid screamed as she fell from one of the cabinets. Luckily Will’s reflexes kicked in and he caught her.
“What’s going on?” Steve asked.
“That’s what I was going to ask you? Any idea why my seventeen year old sister woke up a two year old this morning?” Will said.
“What?” they all said.
“that’s impossible.” Bruce said.
“that can’t be Hayley.” Steve said.
“Oh really?” Will said before putting the little girl down. “Hales can you show them the itsy bitsy spider and arrow?”
The little girl giggled and nodded. She moved closer to them and lifted the sleeves of the oversized pullover Will had put on her. There right where they had seen on an older Hayley were Clint and Natasha’s marks.
“Shit.” Tony said.
“How is this even possible?” Bruce said.
“Amora.” Thor growled. Hayley immediately tensed and went to hide behind Will. Thor noticed and winced at the way his soulmate was looking at him. “She must have cast a spell before she was returned to Asgard.”
“A spell did this?” Steve said.
“How do you turn her back?” Nate asked.
“Magic did this Magic can undo this curse.” Thor said. “My mother is the most gifted sorceress in the nine realms. If anyone knows of a way to return Hayley back to adult self it shall be her. I must take Hayley to Asgard.”
“Let’s go to the roof.” Will said picking up Hayley.
“You in a rush?” Clint asked.
“We have to leave in like ten minutes if we’re going to make it to class.” Nate said picking up dishes.
“Let’s make this quick then.” Steve said. They all followed Will up to the roof.
Will tried handing Hayley off to Thor but she wouldn’t let go. “Hayley come on go with Thor.”
“No!” She said tightening her arms around his neck.
“Hales come one you have to go.” Will said. “It’s for your own good.
“No, he mean.” She said.
“I wouldn’t harm Hayley.” Thor cried out.
“She saw you get upset and she could feel it through the mark.” Natasha said.
“Sweetheart, Thor wasn’t upset with you. He was mad that someone tried to hurt you.” Will said trying to reason with the toddler.
“He scary.” Hayley said.
“No he’s not. He’s big and strong but he’s not scary. He loves you and he want to take you with him so you can see his castle.” Will said resorting to bribery.
“A castle? Like a pwincess?” Hayley said.
“Yeah, like a princess. You want to go don’t you?” Will asked trying to appear a lot more enthusiastic than her really was.
“Yeah yeah!” Hayley cheered.
"Then you have to go with Thor okay?" Will said.
"Okay." Hayley said before turning and walking over to Thor. She raised up her arms signaling that she wanted to be picked up. Thor smiled and swooped her into his arms.
"We shall return as soon as possible." Thor said. He raised mjolnor and called up to the sky. "Heimdall open the bifrost"
A beam of light crashed down on them and left an asgardian sigil burned on the ground.
"Thats going to be hard to explain to Carl" Nate said.
"Nothing a mat can't fix." Will said.
Asgard-
Thor arrived in the Aesir with a young Hayley in his arms.
"Heimdall I must speak to my mother at once." Thor said.
"The enchantress cast a spell on the child." Heimdall said.
"Shiny!" Hayley cried out.
"Aye... She turned my soulmate into a child." Thor said visibly upset. "I hope my mother might know of a way to return Hayley to normal."
"I shall send for a carriage." Heimdall said.
"That wont be necessary. I shall fly us there. Come now Hayley." Thor said walking to the bridge connecting the bifrost to the main citadel.
"Oh pwetty." Hayley said gazing at the city.
"Aye. Hang on tight." Thor said before swinging his hammer and flying to the palace.
"Ah!" Hayley screamed. Thor was worried for a minute she was afraid but then he noticed the huge smile on her face and relaxed. "Whee!"
In no time they arrived at the palace gates. Thor put Hayley down so she could walk.
“Where is my mother, I must speak with her.” Thor said.
“I am here my son.” Frigga said. “And who might this sweet child be?” She kneeled down to get a closer look at Hayley.
“Mother, the enchantress has cursed my soulmate and turned her into a child.” Thor said.
“This is Hayley?” She asked and Thor nodded. “My aren’t you a beauty.” That made Hayley giggle. “Come now child, let us get you inside. Why is she not wearing any shoes and tell me you did not fly her here, the poor child will catch a cold with the way she’s dressed.” Frigga fussed as she carried Hayley inside the palace.
“It was an unexpected journey.” Thor said in his defense.
“We shall have the healers take a look at her and make sure she has no injuries we can’t see.” Frigga said.
Thor just followed behind as his soulmate made small talk with his mother which was mostly just Hayley pointing at things and saying things like ‘pwetty’ or ‘oooh’.
By the time they got to the healers Hayley was starting to get fussy.
“She must be hungry.” Frigga said. “Would you like a biscuit little one?”
“Cookie!” Hayley cheered.
“Here you go.” Frigga said nodding at the healer to get started while she was distracted. They activated the strange scanner and a yellow hued projection appeared. The healers took a quick look before turning it off.
“The child appears to be perfectly healthy my queen.” The healer said.
“Thank you Ygritte.” Frigga said.
“Mother how can we lift the curse the enchantress has cast?” Thor asked.
“First we have to find the spell she cast.” Frigga said. “And someone, needs to be bathed and clothed. I shall go take care of this little one while you may want to try speaking to the one that cast the curse, see if she may be persuaded to help.”
“Amora has no interest in helping she went after my soulmate out of spite.” Thor said.
“Amora’s not the only one gifted in magic down there.” Frigga said giving her son a look.
“Loki will not assist me, he made that very clear when he stabbed me and tried to destroy Midgard.” Thor said.
“You won’t know until you try.” Frigga said. “Come on Hayley, let’s go find you a dress.”
“Okay. Bye Toe.” Hayley said jumping down from the table she was on. She took Frigga’s hand and followed her out of the infirmary.
Thor sighed. It wasn’t like he had anything left to lose. He marched out of the infirmary and headed down to the dungeons to talk to the last person he ever want to see again.
“Well well, crawling back to me already? Things not working out with the child bride?” Amora greeted with a sinister smirk.
“What did you do to her?” Thor demanded.
“I simply gave you what you wanted, is she too young for you now?” Amora taunted.
“Undo the curse.” Thor growled.
“No, I think I’ll let your Hayley stay just as she is.” Amora said.
“Turn her back or Odin’s wrath will pale in comparison to what I’ll do to you.” Thor threatened.
“Go ahead. I wonder what your Hayley will think of you after she learns of what you did to return her to her more grown state?” Amora said.
Thor was livid but knew that she was right. Hayley would not want Thor to resort to such vile acts.
“Enjoy your cell, you won’t be leaving it anytime soon.” Thor said storming off. He walked past various cells until he stopped in front of one.
“You look wretched.” Someone said.
“I am not in a gaming mood brother.” Thor said.
“What’s the matter Amora found the chink in your armor? What’d she do let the Hulk out? Make you compare Sif to a bilgesnipe again?” Loki said. “No this was something more personal, this cut deeper… she hurt your beloved Jane didn’t she?”
“Jane and I are no longer involved.” Thor said.
“It wasn’t Jane but it was someone you care deeply for, love even.” Loki said.
“She cast a spell on someone I care for… turned them into a child. Would you happen to know of a way to reverse such a spell?” Thor said.
“Who was the spell’s victim?” Loki asked.
“That is none of your concern.” Thor said.
“Then it is of no concern of mine if the spell is lifted or not.” Loki said. Loki picked up his book and sat back in his armchair. Thor was glaring daggers at him. They stood there in silence for minutes until Thor gave in.
“Amora cast the spell on my soulmate.” Thor said.
“Your soulmate? To be cursed twice once by the enchantress and then by fate to be stuck with you as a mate, she must be the most unlucky person in the nine realms.” Loki said.
“Are you helping or not?” Thor said.
“Why should i?” Loki said.
“I don’t have time for this.” Thor said walking away.
“Sinfiotli’s guide to transfiguration third edition. You’ll find it in the library, you know that room with all the books you never bother to go into.” Loki said.
“Thank you.” Thor said before going to find his mother and soulmate. He look everywhere, it wasn’t until he heard a very familiar child’s laugh that he found them. His mother was drinking tea in the garden while Hayley dressed in a yellow gown with embroidered flowers ran around the garden.
“Did Amora tell you the spell she used?” Frigga asked.
“No but some else told me where we may find it.” Thor said. “Sinfiotli’s Guide to Transfiguration, third edition.”
“Loki preferred text.” Frigga said. “Let us go see.”
“Flower!” Hayley said handing a yellow rose to Frigga.
“For me? Thank you darling.” Frigga said taking the flower.
“Toe.” Hayley said raising her arms up.
Thor chuckled before picking her up. “Having fun?”
“Yeah, yeah!” She cheered.
“We should go to the library, see if we can start to reverse what was done.” Frigga said.
“To the library we go.” Thor said. Along the way Hayley would not stop babbling about everything she saw. Thor just nodded along and smiled. He couldn’t help but notice how much more carefree and happy Hayley seemed.
As they walked in Hayley marveled at the towering bookcases. Asgard was home to one of the largest and most extensive libraries in the nine realms.
“Book.” Hayley said.
“Those are all books.” Thor said.
“Here it is.” Frigga said picking out the book Loki suggested. “Sinfiotli’s Guide to Transfiguration. Illusions, inanimate objects, ah reversions. To turn back the clock on a person… Says here that there is no way to undo the spell but it does wear off eventually it all depends on the amount of magical energy the caster used.”
“So Hayley shall be forced to remain in this state?” Thor said.
“Until the energy completely dissipates, I am afraid so.” Frigga said.
“How long should that take?” Thor asked.
“I am unsure, it could be hours… days or even longer, years even.” Frigga said. “All we can do for now is keep her safe and wait.”
“I waited centuries for her I can wait a bit longer.” Thor said sadly. “But for now I think it would be best to return to Midgard, the others are probably worried.”
“That is a wise decision,” Frigga said. “Take good care of her, she’s a special girl.”
“That she is.” Thor said. “Hayley, it is time to go.”
“Fly!” Hayley cheered.
“Yes.” Thor said.
“No,” Frigga said giving her son a disapproving look. “How about a chariot, it would be better suited and more comfortable for her.”
“Cherry?” Hayley said confused.
“A cart pulled by horses.” Thor said.
“Pony!!!” Hayley said jumping up and down.
“The chariot it is.” Thor said leading Hayley out to the stables. One quick ride out to the Aesir and they were set to go the only problem was Hayley didn’t want to go.
“Hayley, it is time.” Thor said.
“No.” Hayley said.
“It’s late, almost time for lunch.” Thor said.
“I don’t wanna!” Hayley yelled.
“We must return to Midgard, our friends must be worried.” Thor said.
“No.” Hayley said.
“There will be pops of tart.” Thor tried to imitate what Will had done in the morning.
“No.” Hayley said.
“You can play Mariokart?” Thor tried.
“No!” Hayley yelled.
“Then what do you wish for? You can have anything.” Thor said.
“Anything?” Hayley said.
“All you have to do is return to Midgard.” Thor said.
“Ice cream.” Hayley said.
“You can eat all the ice cream you want, now we shall go.” Thor said picking her up.
“Okie dokie.” Hayley said hanging onto Thor.
“Safe travels.” Heimdall said before sending them back to Earth. They landed on the balcony of Avengers Tower. They walked in and were greeted by everyone who were shocked to see a two year old running in.
“Any luck?” Steve asked.
“The spell is temporary it’ll wear off on it’s own.” Thor said.
“How long until it wears off?” Tony asked.
“It’s impossible to tell, it could be days or longer.” Thor said.
“Ice cream.” Hayley said tugging Thor cape.
“Right.” Thor said walking to the refrigerator. He pulled out a quart of rocky road and handed it along with a spoon to Hayley.
“Tank you.” She said before going to sit on the couch.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Clint said.
“I had to promise her ice cream she did not want to leave Asgard.” Thor said.
“So what do we do with Hayley?” Steve asked.
“What do you mean what are we supposed to do? We babysit her, or we could hire a nanny?” Tony suggested.
“It’s going to be a bit hard to explain how our seventeen year old soulmate turned into a two year old.” Bruce said.
“Anyone here have any experience with kids?” Clint asked.
“Shouldn’t be too hard, Hayley’s a saint how bad could she be as a two year old?” Tony asked.
“Toe.” Hayley said pulling Thor’s arm. “I pee.” She said as she wiggled in place apparently having to go pretty badly.
“Uh, help?” Thor asked.
“Nose goes.” Clint said putting a finger on his nose.
“Please tell me she’s toilet trained.” Tony said putting his finger on his nose.
“You’re all such babies. Come on krasivaya.” Natasha said picking up Hayley. “If she’s staying here you may want to get her some clothes and toys. It’s not easy to go pee in a dress, especially as a two year old.”
“Jarvis get some clothes for Hayley and some toys to keep her busy.” Tony said.
“All necessary items will be delivered within the hour.” Jarvis said.
“Don’t babies need special food?” Steve asked.
“She had teeth so that shouldn’t be an issue we just need to cut it all down for her and we don’t have to give her anything she might choke on.” Bruce said.
“That’s easy. We should come up with a schedule take turns watching her.” Clint said.
“I’m all for that. Three hour shifts and have Jarvis pick the order but since Romanoff is already with her we start with her and end with Thor.” Tony said.
“Sounds good.” Steve said. “I have a meeting to get to.”
“I have a debrief with Hill in half an hour.” Clint said.
“We need to get back in the lab see if we can find a way to speed up getting Hayley grown up.” Tony said.
“I don’t think we’ll find anything but it would be interesting to study any changes to her biochemistry.” Bruce said.
“No experimenting.” Steve and Clint said.
“We’re not just observational studies maybe a few scans.” Tony said.
“The healers on Asgard already checked and she was unharmed.” Thor said. “She is quite the handful and very curious.”
“That’s good to know.” Bruce said. “Will did mention she has a habit of climbing up cabinets.”
“Eyes on her at all time.” Tony said.
“She is adorable though.” Steve admitted.
“Aye she has mother wrapped around her little finger.” Thor said.
“Tash.” Hayley said running in dragging in Natasha behind her.
“We figured out a schedule, you have first shift.” Tony said.
“You do realize this means one of you is going to have to deal with bath time right?” Natasha said with a smirk.
“Uh… Jarvis?” Tony said.
“The schedule generated makes that your responsibility sir.” Jarvis said.
“Uh anyone want to trade?” Tony said.
“No.” Everyone said.
“See you all in three hours.” Natasha said
With that everyone went to go run errands while Natasha stayed with Hayley.
“That’s enough ice cream.” Natasha said.
“No!” Hayley said.
“Hayley you’re going to spoil your appetite.” Natasha tried to reason with her.
“No!” Hayley said stuffing her face.
“Hayley give me the ice cream or no more TV.” Natasha said.
“No!” Hayley cried.
“Hayley!” Natasha said.
“AHHH!” Hayley cried.
“What’s going on?” Pepper said as she walked in. “Who’s kid is that?”
“That’s Hayley.” Natasha said.
“AHHH!” Hayley cried.
“What do you mean that’s Hayley?” Pepper said.
“There was an incident and she got turned into a two year old. It’s temporary but we don’t know how long it’ll take to wear off and now she won’t stop crying.” Natasha said losing her calm.
“Take a breather, I can handle this.” Pepper said. “Hi sweetie.”
“H-hi.” Hayley said in between sobs.
“You’re getting sleepy aren’t you?” Pepper said.
“M-hm.” She hummed hiccupping a bit.
“How about you let Natasha take you downstairs for a nap okay? When you wake up you can have dinner and a scoop of ice cream?” Pepper offered.
“O-okay.” Hayley mumbled.
“It was that easy?” Natasha said.
“Kids at that age get fussy when they’re tired. She probably had a busy morning and she’s probably tired. “Make sure she sleeps a few hours but not more than three or else she won’t sleep through the night. Keep her on a schedule it’ll help.”
“Thanks Pepper.” Natasha said as she felt Hayley tug her pants.
“Tash eh.” Hayley said lifting her arms up signaling she wanted to be picked up.
“Let’s get you to bed. Hopefully your new clothes and toys we’ll be here by the time you wake up.” Natasha said picking her up.
“Mhm.” Hayley said cuddling against Natasha. She walked into the elevator and went down to Hayley’s apartment. She walked into her room and tucked her in. Natasha made sure to surround Hayley with pillows so she wouldn’t roll of the bed in her sleep. Hayley didn’t even stir as Natasha moved around the room.
“Jarvis let me know if she wakes up.” Natasha said.
“Yes Miss Romanoff.” Jarvis answered.
With that Natasha went back upstairs and waited for Hayley’s things to arrive. In less than half an hour the common room was full of toys, clothes, and even a toddler sized bed. She started sorting through it all and by the time she finished her shift was over and it was time for someone to wake up Hayley.
“Nat where’s Hayley?” Clint asked.
“Your turn already?” Natasha asked.
“According to Jarvis.” Clint said. “Where is she?”
“Downstairs in her room taking a nap. You need to go wake her up or else she won’t sleep through the night.” Natasha said standing up from her seat.
“Please tell me your kidding grown up Hayley gets cranky if you wake her up before she’s ready to get up I don’t want to imagine the tantrum she’s going to throw now.” Clint said.
“You mean like the tantrum I had to deal with before she went down for her nap?” Natasha said. “See you at dinner.” She said walking out of the common room.
Clint groaned at the thought at having to deal with his two year old soulmate’s tantrum. Clint had a bit of experience dealing with kids. They had been a daily part of working in a circus but it had been years since then and he was a bit rusty. He decided to get it over with and headed downstairs.
He quietly walked into her room and saw that she was sound asleep in the middle of the pillow fort Natasha has made for her. He was going to have to set up the smaller bed for her before she went to sleep for the night. He gently shook Hayley’s shoulder.
“Hales time to get up.” He said quietly. She scrunched up her face adorably and realized that there were some things she never out grew.
“Mhm.” She groaned sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “Pway time?”
“Yeah, it’s play time but first you need to change. You don’t want to get your dress dirty.” Clint said.
“Clothes?” She said looking around.
“Uh… here’s what Natasha picked out.” Clint said handing Hayley a pink flowery top and some jeans.
“Ew pink.” She said and he had to chuckle at that.
“You want to pick something else out?” Clint asked.
Without another word Hayley jumped off the bed and walked over to the folded clothes Natasha had brought in at some point during her nap. She pulled out a light blue knit sweater top and grabbed some white bow shoes. She took the pants from Clint and slipped them on. Hayley started tugging on her dress but couldn’t get it off.
“Help.” She said putting her arms up.
“Uh… Jarvis can you get Nat. Tell her I need help dressing Hayley.” Clint said getting uncomfortable
“Miss Romanoff is not currently in the Tower she asked me to tell you to in her words ‘Suck it up.’” Jarvis said.
“Okay, If I can disarm a bomb I think I can get you dressed with my eyes closed.” Clint said. “Okay Hales lets do this.”
“Ow.” She said as her head got stuck.
“Sorry sorry, just need to find the other button… there.” Clint said as he got the last button with his eyes still closed.
“Tank you.” Hayley said as she shuffled around getting the dress off and putting on her sweater. “Play.”
Clint took that as his cue to open his eyes. Sure enough Hayley was fully dressed and waiting for him tell her what they were doing next.
“Let’s go upstairs, you can pick out a toy.” Clint said.
“Toys!” She cheered as she pulled him out of the room. They went up stairs and Hayley dug through all the toys Tony had ordered for her. None of them really caught her attention but the instant she found a box of crayons and a notebook she started scribbling in the notebook.
Clint meanwhile started looking through the kitchen to see if he could find any kid friendly snacks. He finally settled on Hayley’s favorite cereal, cocoa puffs.
“What are you drawing Hales?” Clint asked.
“It’s a surprise.” She said not even looking up.
“For who me?” He asked.
“No for mommy.” Hayley said and that made Clint frown. He quickly shook it off.
“Is that her?” Clint asked pointing to a stick figure that was next to a smaller figure.
“Uhuh. That’s me.” She said pointing at the smaller one. Then Clint looked at the rest of the drawing at noticed a smaller blurry dark figure in the background. With everything else being drawn in bright colors the dark spot looked out of place.
“What’s that?” Clint asked pointing to the dark spot.
“Haddy.” Hayley answered losing the happy demeanor she had before.
“Is that your friend?” Clint asked.
“No, big brother.” She said moving the drawing to the side and starting over. Even at this age she was terrified of him or at the very least didn’t get along with him. Clint took a cocoa puff and threw it up and caught it in his mouth making Hayley laugh. She took a cocoa puff and tried to imitate him but the cocoa puff ended up falling on the floor. Hayley tried a few more times but kept missing and was growing frustrated. She was about to yell when Clint threw a piece of cereal into her mouth. She was taken by surprise but happily chewed and swallowed the cereal.
That continued for the rest of Clint’s time and that’s how Steve found them.
“Ah.” Hayley said and from his spot in the kitchen Clint threw a piece of cereal into her mouth. It was really good target practice.
“What’s going on?” Steve asked smiling at his teammate’s antics.
“Oh just feeding Hayley her snack while se draws.” Clint said.
“Ah.” Hayley said again and Clint threw another piece into her mouth.
“Shift’s over.” Steve said.
“Really? Didn’t even notice.” Clint said. “Hales I’m going downstairs to build your bed. Steve’s going to watch you. I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Okay. Bye bye.” She said as she waved at him.
“Bye.” Clint said chuckling.
“Any advice?” Steve asked.
“She’s essentially the same Hayley we know except shorter. You’ll be fine Cap.” Clint said before walking out.
“So… I’m making dinner.” Steve said.
“Kay.” Hayley said picking up the TV remote and flipping through the channels.
“Do you like spaghetti and meatballs?” Steve asked.
“Pasceti?” Hayley asked making Steve chuckle.
“Yeah that and a salad.” Steve said making Hayley give him a disgusted look. “Which you don’t have to eat.”
“Yummy.” Hayley said finally settling on a documentary about lions.
“Spaghetti it is.” Steve said starting to get everything ready. While the pasta was boiling he went to sit next to Hayley and noticed some of her drawings.
“These are nice, did you draw them?” Steve asked.
“Mhm. Toe’s castle.” She said explaining what each drawing was.
“That’s pretty.” Steve said.
“Tank you.” Hayley said. Steve notice how polite she was, that was really strange for any kid especially at her age. Grown up Hayley had always been polite and cordial he never thought that she was the same as a kid.
By the time dinner was ready Hayley had put away all her crayons the exact same way as they came and had asked Steve to take her to the restroom so she could wash her hands. He was going to bring up what he saw to everyone after Hayley went to bed.
Everyone slowly made their way up for dinner.
“Toe!” Hayley cheered as she ran up to him and jumping into his arms.
“Hello little one.” Thor said swooping her into his arms. She started telling him about her day and he couldn’t help but chuckle at her explanations of everything.
“Dinner time.” Steve said putting a small plate with the utensils that came with all of Hayley’s things. Thor put her down on a chair and she dug in.
“Is the spaghetti good?” Tony asked.
“Mhm.” Hayley hummed as she nodded enthusiastically. “Is mommy late?”
That made everyone freeze. “Uh not tonight kiddo. She’s… at work.” Tony said.
“Oh.” She said sadly but continued eating.
“Did you have fun today?” Bruce asked trying to distract her.
“Yup.” She said smiling. Her face was covered in tomato sauce.
“Sir, Captain Rogers’ shift is now over and yours has now started.” Jarvis said.
“Looks like you’re in charge of bath time.” Clint said.
“Any chance she can give herself a bath?” Tony asked. Everyone shook their heads. “Didn’t think so. Come on princess it’s time for a bath.”
“Eh.” She said getting off her chair and running to her drawings. She took one out and then walked over to Natasha
“Tash.” Hayley said before handing Natasha a drawing. “Sowy.” She said before running to Tony’s side.
Natasha was surprised. She looked at the drawing and noticed that it looked like scribbled and stick figures. She recognized one that has red curls which she assumed was her and a smaller figure with brown waves that was holding a box of some sort. She realized it was the two of them and Hayley was holding ice cream.
“What is it?” Steve asked.
“Drawing of us eating ice cream. She threw a tantrum after I told her she had enough that’s probably what she was apologizing for.” Natasha said.
“Is that normal?” Steve asked.
“What do you mean?” Thor asked.
“Have you noticed how polite she is, for a two year old?” Steve said.
“Now that you mention it the way she put her crayons away was organized. I think they may have even been put back the way they originally came.” Clint said.
“She says thank you and apologizes.” Steve said.
“Guys nothing about this is normal. Our seventeen year old soulmate got turned into a two year old. We don’t know if she still knows everything she did before. Maybe some things stuck.” Bruce said.
“I think there’s something you need to see.” Clint said walking over to grab Hayley’s notebook. He flipped through the pages until her found the one from before. “What sticks out to you?”
“It’s pretty normal.” Steve said.
“Aye, it looks like the drawing Hayley gave Natasha.” Thor said.
“Look again.” Clint said.
“That dark spot.” Natasha said.
“What about it?” Bruce asked.
“Hayley said it was for her mom. That’s her, her mom and all the way over here is Haddy.” Clint said.
“Haddy?” Steve said.
“Her brother.” Clint said.
“What?!” Everyone said surprised.
“She didn’t say anything else she just turned the page and started a new one so I’d stop asking.” Clint said.
“Looks like Hayley didn’t grow out of some habits.” Natasha said. “She specifically said that was her brother.”
“Her exact words were big brother.” Clint said.
“How’d she look when she talked about him?” Bruce asked.
“She was happy and then when she brought him up it was like someone flipped a switch. She was serious and a bit sad maybe a bit scared.” Clint said.
“So even when she was a kid they didn’t get along.” Steve said.
“It is not unexpected.” Thor said. “We all know about the scar on the back of Hayley’s neck.”
“Three for three marks.” Natasha said clenching her fists.
Meanwhile Downstairs-
“Okay kiddo the water’s nice and warm you just need to get in there.” Tony said and Hayley just stared at him. “You need anything?”
“Toys.” Hayley said.
“Right… bath toys. I think they’re somewhere around here.” Tony said starting to look through the boxes of stuff. “I hope you like ducks.” Tony said bringing out a set of rubber ducks.
“Duckie!” Hayley cheered.
“Okay… this is it bath time.” Tony said.
“Tony?” Pepper said as she walked in.
“Pepper I’m so glad you’re here.” Tony said.
“Pep!” Hayley cheered.
“Hi sweetie.” Pepper said chuckling. “What happened to you?”
“Pasgetti.” Hayley said.
“Looks like someone needs a bath.” Pepper said.
“Pep can you please…” Tony said.
“Tony she’s your responsibility.” Pepper said.
“I know it’s just really weird.” Tony said.
Pepper shook her head and sighed. “I’m only doing this once.” She said.
“Thank you.” Tony said.
“Go pick out her pajamas while were in there.” Pepper said. “Let’s go give you a bath.”
“Okay.” Hayley said taking Pepper’s hand and following her to the bathroom.
Tony quickly went to Hayley’s room and picked out a set of grey and teal pajamas. They had sheep on them and polka dots on the pants.
He waited until Pepper told him they were done before slipping in to leave the pajamas. When Hayley was dressed Pepper walked out with a towel wrapped around Hayley.
“You need to brush her hair and try to dry it off as much as you can.” Pepper said handing him a brush.
“Thanks Pep.” Tony said.
“Your welcome.” She said. “Good night Hayley.”
“Night night.” Hayley said waving at Pepper.
“It’s still a bit early for bed want to go down to the lab for a bit?” Tony suggested.
“No. Story.” Hayley said.
“You want a bedtime story?” Tony asked.
“Mhm.” Hayley said nodding her head.
“Sure… Which one do you want?” Tony asked.
“Princess.” Hayley cheered.
“A princess story… okay uh once upon a time there was a princess.” Tony started. “She was young and alone but most of all she was scared. One day the prince’s ex girlfriend showed up and cursed the princess turning her into a little girl.”
“An den?” Hayley asked.
“Not sure we’re still figuring it out.” Tony said.
“Tat bad.” She said.
“Yeah it really is.” Tony said. “Want to watch a movie instead?”
“Mhm.” Hayley nodded.
“Jarvis play something kid friendly.” Tony said and Monsters Inc started playing. Hayley attentively watched the movie until Jarvis reminded Tony of Hayley’s bed time.
“Time for bed kid.” Tony said picking her up and carrying her to the bed Clint had set up.
“No monsters.” Hayley said tearing up.
“Kid there aren’t any monsters it was just a movie. Besides the monsters from the movie were good ones remember. They took care of boo.” Tony said.
“Purple scary. He not nice.” Hayley said.
“I promise you no monsters are going to show up and scare you.” Tony said.
“Check?” Hayley asked.
“Okay.” Tony said looking under the bed. “Clear.”
“EH.” She said pointing at the closet.
Tony sighed but walked over to the closet and turned on the light so Hayley could see that the only thing in there were her clothes. “Safe, how about I leave the light on for you?”
“Tank you.” Hayley said.
“Night.” Tony said.
“Wait.” Hayley said. Tony turned and she pat the space next to her.
“You want me to stay until you fall asleep?” Tony asked.
“Pease?” Hayley asked.
“Sure kiddo.” Tony said walking over to sit next to her. Tony threaded his fingers through Hayley’s hair and saw as her eyes slowly became droopy.
‘Good to know some habits don’t go away’ Tony thought. When Hayley’s eyes closed and her breathing evened out Tony took that as his cue to slip out.
“Free until tomorrow afternoon.” Tony said.
“Actually sir, the others have discussed it and since you only did half the work of everyone else the remainder of your shift shall continue in the morning.” Jarvis said.
“Oh crap… What do kids do in the morning?” Tony asked.
The Next Morning-
“Sir I believe it is best you wake up.” Jarvis said waking Tony up who had stayed up half the night reading parenting books.
“Five more minutes.” Tony groaned.
“Sir, young Miss Adams is awake and I believe it is best you go to her now.” Jarvis said sounding a bit concerned. Tony got up and got to the elevator. As soon as he got to Hayley’s for he bolted to her room.
“Hayley! Kiddo?” Tony called out. Tony opened the door to her room and was shocked by what he saw. “Shit.”