Tony stood by Loki's bed, shaking him roughly. Loki's eyes flickered open and he glared at Tony through half awake eyes. "Do you want to die today Stark?" Loki growled at him, trying to get back under the covers. "Don't be a wuss, it's already five thirty and I've been working for hours." Loki sighed as he was dragged out of his bed by an exhausted Tony Stark.
"Where are we going?" He demanded as they passed the doorway.
"The Lab." Tony replied, deciding that no further explanation was necessary. Loki thought about what to say next as he was pulled impatiently down the corridors. When they reached the lab, Tony pushed him down into a chair. "Try and take it like a man." Tony said with an eye roll as he pulled out a needle. "Wait what?!" Loki yelped, his voice higher than usual, "Why are you stabbing me?"
"Because you and Thorn both have magical blood and come from the same place and have similar magic so it's likely that you both have similar blood which means I can probably use it to help with finding the cure!" Tony explained impatiently. Loki had barely nodded before Tony shoved the needle into his arm, drawing out some of Loki's blood. "Ow!" Loki cried out in pain. "What did I say? Stop being a wimp!" Tony said, sounding irritated, "You've probably woken up the-"
"Who screamed?" Steve asked.
Tony sighed and glared at Loki who looked down. "Sorry." Loki muttered. Thor, Clint and then the rest of the children joined Steve at the doorway looking concerned. "Nothing's happening, you guys should go back to sleep." Tony replied, ushering them out the door, "You guys aren't even meant to be in here."
"Bruce is allowed in here!" Clint objected, folding his arms as Tony didn't blink when Bruce walked past him and sat on Tony's chair. Tony hesitated, looking at Bruce. He felt a stab of sadness again. This was Bruce's lab too. Tony briefly thought of the countless hours spent in here together, researching for S.H.I.E.L.D, for his suits, for anything and everything they found amazing. "Yeah well...That's different." Tony said eventually, but he picked Bruce up anyway and deposited him outside the door to avoid any arguments.
Tony shut the door and sighed loudly. "You know, it is rather unfair to only let Bruce in." Loki said tentatively. "Shut up Loki, it's Bruce's lab as well as mine."
"Tony...he's five."
"How many times to I have to tell you to shut up Loki?"
The kids didn't go back to bed however. They were already up, and much more importantly than that, they were starving. Walking into the kitchen, they pulled themselves up onto stools and chairs. "Does anyone actually know how to make food?" Bruce asked after a while.
"Sure I do." Clint replied, "How hard can it be?" Thor nodded.
"I've watched Loki make cereal thousands of times!" Thor agreed, sliding off of his chair and walking over to the kitchen cupboards. "Thousands?" Bruce said uncertainly. He shared a worried look with Steve and Natasha.
"Tony's gonna kill us if we make a mess." Steve pointed out. Clint dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "We're not gonna make a mess. And besides, you're hungry aren't you?" Steve hesitated before nodding. "Then problem solved." Clint said, sounding very sure. Using a chair, he climbed onto the kitchen counter and pulled out a huge box of cereal. Before he could stop himself, Clint started to stumble under the weight of the huge box. Thor managed to grab his arm before he fell off the edge of the marble counter top, but it was too late for the box of cereal. Coco Pops went flying, landing on the floor and spilling out everywhere.
The kitchen fell into silence. "Oops." Clint said at last.
"We're dead." Steve said, sounding defeated as he slumped into a chair. Bruce nodded.
"Tony will officially kill us." He added, sitting down next to steve and giving lint an 'I told you so' sort of look. Clint was unwilling to admit defeat and so was Thor.
"Nonsense," The God said, "There's some left, we just need some milk." Before any of them could stop him, Thor grabbed the chair and opened the fridge. "Thor...don't." Bruce said nervously. Thor ignored him completely and pulled out the carton of milk. He jumped off of the stool, but as he did so, he slid on the coco pops which layered the floor and the milk carton fell out of his hand, smashing and sending rivers of milk across the floor.
"I thought it couldn't get any worse." Bruce said exasperatedly.
"Well you, my friend, were wrong." Steve said.
"What the f-"
"What happened?" Loki cut Tony off quickly, staring around at the trashed up kitchen. A few tissues were now thrown into the milk (Clint's last ditch plan), but the mess was everywhere. All the kids were watching Tony nervously. The man's jaw was clenched and he appeared to be deciding what to say. At last he spoke, "So, doesn't anyone want to tell me who destroyed my kitchen?" His voice was calm as he picked his way through the mess, but the kids were still scared. Clint and Thor hung their heads in shame. Thor was about to raise his hand when a voice spoke.
"I did." Steve. Clint and Thor snapped their heads up and stared at him. Tony nodded and brushed a patch of the counter top clean, before sitting up on it again. Steve looked even more determined now that he knew Tony wouldn't explode, "I thought I could make cereal but it turns out that I really can't and the others told me no and I spilled everything everywhere and...I'm sorry." Steve said in a rush.
Loki looked from Steve to Tony, wondering how he was going to react. At last Tony sighed and yawned, running a hand through his messy brown hair. The children waited anxiously for Tony to speak again, and when he did it wasn't even to them. "Jarvis, dial a cleaner, we'll be one of the other kitchens." The kids breathed a sigh of relief and looked at each other. Loki looked surprised.
The children shuffled out and, as they passed through through the doorway, Clint leaned over to Steve and whispered, "Thanks Steve." The blonde boy gave him a grin in reply before Clint hesitated and added, "You're really brave." Steve smiled even wider at this praise and Thor appeared beside Clint and nodded in agreement. Bruce spoke from beside him, "I thought you were going to die Steve!" Natasha nodded this time, reaching over and patting steve on the shoulder and looking impressed. Steve laughed slightly, feeling elated at the fact that everybody was happy with him, and Tony didn't seem to be angry in the slightest! For the first time, all the children walked side by side and actually felt like friends. Actually felt like a team.
"So, what have you done with the real Tony Stark?" Loki asked, pretending to be suspicious as he cross the room towards Tony. "He's too tired to be sarcastic and angry." Tony replied simply. Loki smiled and kicked a soggy tissue,"This is gross." He stated, as the soggy paper oozed back into a puddle of milk. "Well done, Captain Obvious." Tony snorted, sliding of the counter. "I thought you were too tired to be sarcastic?" Loki pointed out with a slight smirk.
"Well, I'm not too tired to hit you." Loki didn't even flinch at the threat as he opened the door for Tony. As they walked towards the kitchen Tony asked, "You know it wasn't actually Steve, right?"
"Yeah, I know."
The kids ate a quick breakfast of toast, since the cereal was currently all over Tony's kitchen floor. Tony and Loki exchanged a quick look before they both nodded and Tony coughed. The children looked at him, sensing that he was about to say something important. "I have an announcement." Tony stated loudly. The kids waited and Loki watched them. Tony spoke again, "Today, you will be starting school.
The kitchen erupted.
"What?!" Bruce exclaimed, dropping his toast which fell with a dramatic clunk onto his plate. Natasha's big eyes widened and her mouth opened a bit, making her look so lost that Tony looked down quickly, hoping to avoid his weak spot. Steve looked genuinely confused, as if never in his wildest dreams had he actually imagined having to learn. Clint had stood up angrily and was deciding how told off he would be if he threw his plate onto the floor. Thor was focusing on Loki, his eyes working hard as if he was trying to understand if Loki was joking or not. Tony attempted to calm them down, "Listen, guys, school isn't that bad..."
"Did you enjoy it?" Bruce asked skeptically.
"Well...no, but I went to an awful boarding school. Besides, you guys have each other." Thor looked dejected as he realised that this really wasn't a joke. "Why do you do this?" The small God asked to the older one. "It's illegal for you not to go, you're all five. I think." Tony explained. All of the children started planning on how exactly to evade this law. Loki sighed, "It's too late guys, you're going."
The car was filled with silence as Tony pulled out of Stark Towers and started driving towards the school. It was quite a small place, and there wasn't even a uniform, especially not for the smallest children. Tony checked on them in the wing mirror, Clint and Thor looked brooding, Natasha looked accepting and was watching out the window. Bruce was clutching his bag nervously, but it was Steve Tony was most worried about. The blonde boy was pale and looking scared, despite his previous act of bravery and Tony knew why. Steve could barely read, and that was only because Tony had been helping him, and Tony was pretty sure that Steve couldn't write. He took a mental note to talk to his teacher before wondering if it was a good idea after all. He didn't want them treating Steve like a two year old before he even had a chance to make a good reputation for himself.
Tony glanced at Loki, who was watching out of the window, the sunlight making his eyes look an even more vivid blue. Before Tony could ask himself why the hell he was thinking about the colour of Loki's eyes, he realised that he needed to turn into the school car park. Pulling into a good space he got out, opening the back doors to the car and helping Natasha, Steve and Bruce out while Loki helped out Thor and Clint from the other side.
Once they had regrouped in front of the car Loki decided to say something. "Listen guys, I want you to stop being nervous. It won't be that bad, I promise. It's just full of other kids like you guys. I want you to look out for one another and try your best. Steve, if you need help, just ask and Clint, don't make too much trouble. I swear, if it's truly honestly terrible, then ask the school to call me and Tony and we'll come and get you. But only if you know that you really can't stand it here." All five children nodded, looking slightly less nervous, though they were walking closer together than they usually did.
Entering the school, Tony and Loki walked with them towards their classroom. The children who had already arrived were colouring quietly and the teacher got up to greet them. Introducing herself to the kids first, she invited them to colour with the others. Crowding around the table, they all began to scribble on their papers. It made Tony regret signing them up just watching. Not like he'd ever admit it, but he had gotten attached to them. The teacher, Miss Pensworth, turned to them. "So, I take it you are the children's....fathers?" She asked politely. Tony wasn't even going to bother correcting her when he saw Loki looking expectant, "Guardians." He corrected smoothly, giving the teacher a charming smile. The teacher blushed slightly and Loki felt the overwhelming urge to use his magic to make her turn into a pig. Tony gave him a weird look and Loki stopped glaring abruptly.
"I'm sure the children will be happy here." Miss Pensworth said with a smile. Luckily, she hadn't seemed to notice Loki at all. "Thank you very much." Tony said gratefully, giving her another smile before turning around and walking away down the corridor. Loki nodded and followed Tony, catching up to him easily with his long strides. When they reached the car park Tony looked at him, placing a hand on the car door handle so Loki couldn't open it, "What was wrong with you and her?" He asked quizzically. Loki refused to meet his gaze. "I don't know, she was just... dislikable."
"Come on, she was lovely." Tony replied, rolling his eyes. Loki glared and pulled Tony's hand away from the handle. "Well I'm glad you think so."
***
"Well this is tedious." Bruce told Thor, as they sat on small plastic chairs colouring in large bubble writing letters. "These coloured pencils aren't even sharp!"
Bruce saw Steve grab a pencil and scribble as hard as he could, pressing down on the points, ruining them with stubby blunt ends. "Well, not anymore they're not."
"Now, now, Stephen-" Mrs Pensworth started, peering her head at him.
"Steve." Steve corrected defensively.
"Yes, but please stop ruining the colours!" She said irritably. "How do you think everyone else feels?"
"Bored." Clint chimed in. "Because this task is bo-ring as!"
"Clifford!" She started.
"Clint!" He called back ready for a fight.
Suddenly the bell interrupted them with a loud dring.
"Class dismissed!" She snapped loudly. The children cheered and poured out into the playground.
The Avengers happily ran out into the playground. It was filled with colourful play equipment, slides, roundabouts, climbing frames, and a lot of extra things to play with too.
Natasha stood for a moment, unsure of where to go.
"Hello," said a girl with wavy blonde hair. A couple of other girls stood next to her looking expectant. "We think you're very pretty."
"She only speaks Russian." Clint butted in.
"Not true. She can say 'Tony'." Bruce said matter of factly. Natasha looked up as she heard the name as if she expected Tony to be standing next to them.
"That doesn't count." Clint said moodily.
"Well that doesn't matter. Would she like to come jump rope with us?" The girl took her hand and pointed to where a group of other children were jumping over a thin purple rope.
Natasha started to nod excitedly but Clint barged over and stood in front of her.
"Well, you can't." He said shortly. "She's our friend."
"Clint!" Bruce interjected. "Of course she can. We don't mind a bit, do we. Do we?" He eyed Clint angrily.
"No." Clint muttered.
Natasha smiled and hugged Bruce happily.
"But come and play with us later, okay? I like the way you play wars with me." Thor called from the top of the climbing frame.
Natasha nodded and happily skipped off with the new girls.
Steve suddenly burst into where they were all standing, clutching a stick tightly with his hand.
He pointed it straight at Clint and pretended to shoot him.
"Bang bang! Ha ha, you're dead!" Steve laughed. Clint mimed falling over clutching his heart.
"Steve... Why?" He said in a fake wheeze.
"It had to be done." He said sadly. "All good soldiers have to follow orders."
"Orders?" Bruce said hopping of the swing seat he had been perched on. "Who gave you the orders to kill Clint?"
Steve pointed over to where a group of tough, squat looking boys stood. "General Zack told me to follow his orders and then I can become I major!" He smiled proudly.
"General Zack?" Thor asked incredulously. "I'd like to see him take on me and my armies! Father would help me, I'm sure! For Asgard!" He said, yelling the last part, as he started to charge towards them. But before he got there, the bell rang, and he got swept away into the sea of other kids walking in the other direction.
"Thor!" Bruce cried, but Thor had already disappeared down forgotten corridors never to seen again.
Steve was standing over by the older boys again. He gave them a salute before walking over to Natasha and the girls who were coming in from their skipping. As they walked in, they managed to save Thor, who was stranded on a window sill, looking over the heads of students and trying to find the others. Bruce waved to him and Thor jumped down, somehow managing to fight his way through the sea of people. Following the girls from earlier, they found themselves back inside the classroom, where Miss Pensworth had appeared to have got her composure back. "Hello, did you enjoy your break?" All the children nodded and answered her with a chorus of yes miss and things like that. None of the boys, or Natasha answered her. Then she said something which made both Natasha and Steve look down in shame, "Time for reading!"
***
Tony kept checking the wing mirror, then looking back at the road when he caught sight of the empty car seats. Loki watched him with a slight smile present on his face, "You really miss them, don't you?" He asked Tony.
"No, I'm just getting used to no one whining in my back seat." Tony replied quickly.
"Right, of course." Loki replied in a voice which made it very clear to Tony that he didn't believe him in the slightest, "Can I ask where we're going?" Loki asked eventually, still trying not to laugh. "We?" Tony quoted and Loki flushed. Tony continued, "What makes you think that we are doing anything?"
"Nothing." Loki replied, looking out of the window and deciding to stay like that. He didn't want Tony to see he was hurt. After what seemed like forever, Tony said something else.
"We're going to a cafe. I need coffee."
Loki smiled.
***
Steve smiled to himself. This was the perfect plan. Propped up on the table in front of him was a big fact book, but in front of that was his comic book, standing against the pages. Steve pretended to be reading books like everyone else when he fact, he was just flicking through the pages. Clint had already explained to the teacher about Natasha only spoke Russian, and the blonde girl from earlier was helping her learn the alphabet. Steve, however, was determined to keep it all secret.
But his plan was to be short lasted. Thor grinned at him over his book about Greek Gladiators and at that exact moment, Miss Pensworth decided to get up, to get them all to read to her. She started with Bruce, who read fluently from his science book. Next went a few girls who seemed to only read pony books.
Clint read next, stumbling over a few big words, but Miss Pensworth seemed satisfied. Natasha looked proud as she recited her alphabet and when she was finished all of the class clapped. Then it came to Steve's turn. "What are you reading Steve?" The teacher asked. Steve grabbed the book, covering the title with his hands, "Um...soldiers." He blurted out. Miss Pensworth gestured for him to read a page, so Steve made it up as he went along. Perhaps it was a story he had been told at some point, because he was sure of what he was saying.
He opened the book to the very first page, "Once upon a time, there was a boy. People always called him that, said he was just a boy, even though all he ever wanted was to be a man. The boy was unhappy, although he had plenty of great friends, he never felt good enough. But one day, he heard that there was to be a war. Even though most people were very sad, the boy thought that this was his chance to be exactly what he wanted to be. A soldier. Wait, the boy wished to be more than that. He wanted to be a hero."
The class was filled with silence. Every face was turned towards Steve. After a long moment Miss Pensworth cleared her throat. "Um, well done Steve," She gave him a look before going to her desk. The class slowly returned to their reading and Clint leaned over when she wasn't looking, "I thought you couldn't read?" He whispered to Steve suspiciously.
"I can't." Steve replied with a grin.
***
"This stuff is so bitter!" Loki exclaimed with distaste as he took a mouthful of black coffee. Tony sat opposite him, his hands wrapped around the cup of coffee in front of him. Tony threw him a few bags of sugar which Loki emptied into his cup. "How do you drink that stuff black?" Loki asked Tony as the other took a gulp of his coffee which had no sugar or cream.
"I'm tough like that." Tony replied with a laugh. Loki just rolled his eyes in reply.
The steamy coffee shop was almost empty. Tony turned in his seat, facing the fogged up window where he used his finger to draw a heart. "Aw, that's cute." Loki mocked him. Tony smirked and added the shape of a body around the heart. Loki watched, confused as Tony labelled it 'Loki'. Then, Tony drew a strike of lightning, which was hitting Loki. Loki scowled and Tony burst out laughing. "Haha." Loki said sarcastically. Tony just smirked into his coffee while Loki rolled his eyes.
"So, how come you're not having any 'me time'?" Loki asked. Tony shrugged as Loki reached over and scribbled out the 'Loki' from the window drawing. He had written the letter T, O and N before Tony reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling it away before Loki had a chance to write his name instead. "I don't know," Tony said, not letting go of Loki's hand yet, "I guess this time is good enough for me." Tony let go. Loki kept smiling.
***
The kids were all gathered around a table, eating the sandwiches, crisps, juice and cupcakes Loki had packed for them. When they got on to the cupcakes, Steve hadn't touched his.
"Don't you want your cupcake?" Clint asked. "I'll have it!"
Steve shook his head.
"It's for General Zack." He told them firmly.
"General Zack?" Bruce asked. "Why does he get your cupcake?"
"Because he's my general. And I must follow his orders!" Steve told him.
Bruce shook his head in dismay. Just like he said he would, as the children all filed out into the playground, Steve ran over and handed his cupcake to one of the older boys. He took it and started eating it, giving Steve a salute which Steve eagerly returned.
Natasha had come over to Thor this break, much to the disappointment of the skipping girls, and they were now in a violent game of wars. Natasha was currently losing, although that might be because Thor dictated most of their games. Clint came to her aid, helping her battle the God. Bruce was dragged onto his side by Thor and Steve was watching longingly from the other side of the playground, where Zack was stuffing his face with cupcake, his two friends standing guard.
After lunch break, they had counting, which none of the children struggled with. They could all count to fifty. At long last, the end of the day had arrived. All five children rushed towards the door which they knew led to the car park where Tony and Loki would be waiting. But just as they reached the door, three large shapes blocked the doorway. Zack and his two cronies stood in front of them. Zack appeared to be sizing up them all, before he pointed at Clint, "You." He said, as if it was an accusation, "I don't like you." He cracked his knuckles. His eyes flickered over to Steve, "Well come on soldier!" Zack barked. Steve hurried to stand next to him and one of the cronies handed him his stick which they had apparently kept for him.
Clint shot a look at the others, and then at Steve who looked slightly ashamed, before he stepped forwards. Bruce yanked Thor and Natasha over to the other side of the hall before they got involved. Moving quickly and looking menacing, the three large boys and Steve moved towards Clint. When they were only a few inches from hitting Clint, Steve suddenly turned, and using his stick, he whacked them all as hard as possible across the shins. The three boys howled in pain, stopping and clutching their shins. Steve used this opportunity to grab Clint, pulling him out the door quickly. The others followed,, slipping around the three bullies (Thor slid under Zack's legs for effect) and took off towards Tony and Loki who looked incredibly happy to see them.
When they were halfway across the car park, they slowed to a jog and Clint turned around to face Steve, "All good soldiers follow orders?" He quoted with a grin.
"All better soldiers do what's right."
***
Tony checked on the kids before going into the living room. They were all in Thor's room and appeared to be acting out a scene in which Steve was hitting someone with a baseball bat or something. Tony smiled and waved at them before walking into into the living room with his laptop. Loki was in there and Tony sat next to him, putting his laptop on the table and clicking a few buttons. A few holographic charts came up in front of Tony, apparently something to do with his suits. Loki watched him for a moment.
"So, you never feel pent up on this tower?" He asked after a while, looking around with interest.
"Why would I?" Tony replied with a shrug, looking up from his work, "I mean, everything I need is here."
"I know," Loki conceded, "But, you never want to travel the world?"
"One, already done and two we can do that right now." Tony laughed at Loki's confused expression. "Jarvis, get me Earth up here please." Tony said, making Loki look even more confused. A hologram earth appeared in front of Tony and the billionaire took it into his hands. Loki laughed and rolled his eyes but Tony held up a finger to shush him. Tony threw his hands apart and the hologram was thrown into a far bigger size, so that they were sitting right inside the blue printed Earth. Loki looked at it for a minute before he looked back at the man next to him. "Alright, it is pretty amazing.' Loki admitted. Tony grinned and looked around too, his eyes flicking from country to country. He looked so perfect in that moment that Loki did something he never thought he would.
Loki leaned over and pressed his lips to Tony's.