Ficlets about children, because apparently that's what I do
The eternal homie eleanor_lavish is the worst kind of enabler. She's the kind where she's like, "Oh, could you do me this favor?", because she knows that it's something you actually want to do. Anyway, I wrote some words where some of the Avengers become children and the other Avengers are vexed.
1. "You know," Tony says, which is when Steve realizes that the visor is open. "This is usually the part where Thor says something like, 'The trickery of my brother Loki has caused this, blah blah blah, we can fix it!'" Steve crouches down. The Asgardian in question is now barely two feet tall, sitting on the pavement and chewing on his cape.
"Found Barton," Agent Coulson says in his ear. "He got hit too. Taking him back to the van."
Steve smiles and holds out his hand and Thor smiles back, the sunny bright smile of a three year old with no cares in the world. "I'm gonna pick you up now, okay? You wanna go up?" Thor nods and Steve wraps the cape around him like a blanket so that the kid is at least not naked. He's careful as he lifts Thor up, not sure just how much of the strength he's used to in Thor stuck around. Thor happily looks around at the wreckage from the battle, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents racing around to get things contained, and babbles as they make their way back to the rest of the team.
Steve stops at the door of the van to look back, make sure Tony's following him, but what he sees instead is Tony facing off with a tiny redhead. She's even tapping her foot, like she's daring Tony to make a move. Tony looks up at Steve and Agent Coulson, with their calm charges in their arms, and he throws his arms up. "Really? This is really how this is going to work out?" Natasha takes that opportunity to make a break for it and the visor snaps down as Tony goes after her.
2. The house should be quiet when Phil comes in. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s brand new pediatrician set out a very specific schedule for the kids, designed to make this all as easy and "normal" for them as possible. Now is supposed to be naptime, when even Tony is barred from loud noise, but there is definite hysteria happening in the library. When Phil turns the corner, Steve and Tony have the harried, stressed look of new parents as they hiss at each other and at JARVIS. "Is something wrong?" Phil asks.
They both look up suddenly, Steve looking guilty as hell. Phil lifts his eyebrow. "It's naptime," Steve says, a little helpless and lame.
"And?"
Tony sighs. "It's naptime and we can't find Clint. JARVIS insists he's in this room, but he's obviously not, so we're trying to decide whether to check the secret passage..."
Phil's already tuned them out. He scans the room, sees where they clearly looked under the couch and under the desk, takes in the straight-backed chairs before dragging one to the window. "What are you doing?" Tony asks.
"It's Hawkeye," Phil says, climbing up on the chair and then onto the sill. "You have to look high." Phil doesn't even realize he's smiling. Clint is curled into a little ball on top of the tallest bookcase, wrapped like a mummy in the forest green blanket from his bed. "Hey, buddy," Phil says, and Clint opens one eye, hair sticking up at all angles. "Let's go nap in your room, okay?"
Clint rolls up even smaller and pouts. Phil just stares him down. "Will you stay with me?" he asks. Phil nods. Clint sighs and lets Phil tug him to the edge of the bookcase and pick him up.
"How the hell did he even get up there!?" Tony sputters. Phil climbs down to the floor, points out the little footprints in the dust on the bookshelves, the three books knocked askew by a final great push that had originally tipped him off, and then carries Clint back up to his bedroom.
1. "You know," Tony says, which is when Steve realizes that the visor is open. "This is usually the part where Thor says something like, 'The trickery of my brother Loki has caused this, blah blah blah, we can fix it!'" Steve crouches down. The Asgardian in question is now barely two feet tall, sitting on the pavement and chewing on his cape.
"Found Barton," Agent Coulson says in his ear. "He got hit too. Taking him back to the van."
Steve smiles and holds out his hand and Thor smiles back, the sunny bright smile of a three year old with no cares in the world. "I'm gonna pick you up now, okay? You wanna go up?" Thor nods and Steve wraps the cape around him like a blanket so that the kid is at least not naked. He's careful as he lifts Thor up, not sure just how much of the strength he's used to in Thor stuck around. Thor happily looks around at the wreckage from the battle, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents racing around to get things contained, and babbles as they make their way back to the rest of the team.
Steve stops at the door of the van to look back, make sure Tony's following him, but what he sees instead is Tony facing off with a tiny redhead. She's even tapping her foot, like she's daring Tony to make a move. Tony looks up at Steve and Agent Coulson, with their calm charges in their arms, and he throws his arms up. "Really? This is really how this is going to work out?" Natasha takes that opportunity to make a break for it and the visor snaps down as Tony goes after her.
2. The house should be quiet when Phil comes in. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s brand new pediatrician set out a very specific schedule for the kids, designed to make this all as easy and "normal" for them as possible. Now is supposed to be naptime, when even Tony is barred from loud noise, but there is definite hysteria happening in the library. When Phil turns the corner, Steve and Tony have the harried, stressed look of new parents as they hiss at each other and at JARVIS. "Is something wrong?" Phil asks.
They both look up suddenly, Steve looking guilty as hell. Phil lifts his eyebrow. "It's naptime," Steve says, a little helpless and lame.
"And?"
Tony sighs. "It's naptime and we can't find Clint. JARVIS insists he's in this room, but he's obviously not, so we're trying to decide whether to check the secret passage..."
Phil's already tuned them out. He scans the room, sees where they clearly looked under the couch and under the desk, takes in the straight-backed chairs before dragging one to the window. "What are you doing?" Tony asks.
"It's Hawkeye," Phil says, climbing up on the chair and then onto the sill. "You have to look high." Phil doesn't even realize he's smiling. Clint is curled into a little ball on top of the tallest bookcase, wrapped like a mummy in the forest green blanket from his bed. "Hey, buddy," Phil says, and Clint opens one eye, hair sticking up at all angles. "Let's go nap in your room, okay?"
Clint rolls up even smaller and pouts. Phil just stares him down. "Will you stay with me?" he asks. Phil nods. Clint sighs and lets Phil tug him to the edge of the bookcase and pick him up.
"How the hell did he even get up there!?" Tony sputters. Phil climbs down to the floor, points out the little footprints in the dust on the bookshelves, the three books knocked askew by a final great push that had originally tipped him off, and then carries Clint back up to his bedroom.