"Is it time to go?' Clint asked sleepily as the lights in the room clicked on.
"Yeah." Tony replied, walking into the room. He was already dressed in jeans and a long sleeved top, a t-shirt over the top. Clint sat up, blinking blearily and yawning. Tony grinned at the sight. "Come on," He encouraged the sleepy five year old, "You can help me wake up the others." At this, Clint smiled and hopped out of bed, rushing past Tony. A few seconds later he heard the high cry coming from Steve, followed by, "Clint! Get off me! Okay, I'm getting up!" Tony rolled his eyes and went into the next room to wake up Natasha. To his surprise, she was already up and dressed. She smiled tiredly at him with a small yawn, so he walked over and picked her up, carrying her into the kitchen where he found Loki with Thor. A minute later, Clint and Steve stumbled in, both dressed and with bed heads. "We'll eat at the airport." Loki explained to them as he noticed Clint looking hungrily at the cupboards.
Since he was travelling with Loki, Fury had called, banning him from any use of his private aircrafts. They didn't really want Loki going anywhere, but Tony had argued that he couldn't take anything through the public airport security. Eventually it was allowed, and Tony didn't want to risk ruining it by attempting to fly one of his private planes anyway, which were so much more comfortable. Loki busied himself, checking the passports under Tony's instructions. He had no idea what to expect; he had never flown a plane before and was slightly nervous about taking to the sky in such a heavy metal structure.
The children were clamoured round the window, but they couldn't see much as it was still pitch black outside. Their flight left at half past four in the morning, so it was two am. The effects of sleep were only starting to wear off and most of the children looked half asleep. While the kids watched the streets, waiting for the car that was coming to take them to the airport, Loki kissed the sleepy looking Tony quickly and smiled at him. "This is a good idea." He reassured the billionaire.
"I just hope none of them mind flying." Tony muttered. Loki swallowed his fears of flying for the first time and decided not to mention it.
At last, the car pulled up outside and the kids rushed to the door, lacing up shoes and pulling on coats to protect them against the cold night time air. Tony slipped on a coat and Loki pulled on a jacket, cramming his hands into his pockets as soon as they stepped outside into the wind. Tony was pulling his suitcase and Natasha's and pushed them into the boot with the help of the driver. Once Loki had buckled the children into the huge eight seater van, he doubled back to help Tony with the rest of the bags.
Coming out if the door with Steve's suitcase, he watched with an amused expression as Tony was attempting to heave Bruce's suitcase, which was crammed with books, into the boot. Loki walked over and helped him lift it in. Tony looked embarrassed. "You're welcome." Loki teased.
"Not my fault you have Godly strength." Tony defended himself.
"Nice excuse." Loki replied. Finally, all the bags were shoved into the boot, the kids were strapped in, and Loki and Tony sat next to each other in the back of the car. The journey to the airport was to be a long one, Steve and Clint were soon asleep and, too tired to even argue, their heads rested together as they slept.
Natasha and Bruce were sitting next to one another and looking out, watching the dimly lit surroundings rush past. Whenever they stopped for long enough, Bruce would point something simple out and say it English, which Natasha would repeat and Tony sent Bruce an approving grin which made Bruce look very proud. Tony pulled out his phone, putting in earphones so that he didn't disturb the two sleeping boys and offered one to Loki. Loki was pretty confused as he watched Tony put it in his ear but he copied him all the same. The God was still awful with technology, though he wasn't quite as bad as Thor who seemed determined to never learn anything about it. Not to mention, living with Tony had pretty much forced Loki to be surrounded by technology every moment which had helped him pick a few things up.
Tony put on some good music and the long journey was spent in comfortable silence as the God and the billionaire leant against each other, sleepy and hungry, but happy. After what seemed like ages, the car pulled into the airport car park. Steve and Clint looked even tireder even though they'd been sleeping. Piling their suitcases onto a trolley, Loki thanked the driver while Tony ran a hand through his hair and picked up Natasha again, which made Loki grin. He knew that Tony would never put her down if she wanted to be carried.
"Where are we going next?" Loki asked curiously.
"You'll find out soon."
***
"Thor! Thor?" Tony called.
"Damn you, Tony! How did you lose him?" Loki said angrily
"I didn't lose him!"
"So, you're telling me he ran away!?" Loki demanded.
"No... No." Tony shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Well, I don't know... Maybe he-"
"Stop!" Loki pushed Tony hard. Tony opened his mouth to tell him to watch out for Natasha before he stopped himself. "Just stop with the excuses!" Loki yelled as an irritated Tony picked himself up off the floor. "You better watch it before you get yourself arrested!" Tony snarled in response, giving a worried look towards a terrifying security guard who was watching them.
"Don't tell me what to do." Loki muttered, but he took a step back even so.
Tony smirked. "Yeah, yeah," Tony said in a tone that clearly implied that he had no intention of following this statement whatsoever. "We need to find Thor first."
"No, you need to find Thor. I'm going to check in to be plane we need to catch!" Loki said. "I'll take the kids with me. If you and Thor aren't waiting outside where we are boarding in 45 minutes, I swear I will punch you in the face."
Tony sighed as Loki left, the kids trailing behind him.
"Thor?" Tony asked hopefully. The normal blur of airport noise answered him, but no Thor.
***
"Where is he?!" Loki growled angrily. His watch told him that Tony was five minutes late. Loki couldn't do anything else than wait. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. 20 minutes. At last, he saw Tony running towards them, his hair somehow still perfect even though it was almost four in the morning, and carrying Thor. Loki was still deciding whether to kiss him or punch him when Tony grabbed his hand, set down Thor and looked at him quickly, "Board now, yell at me later." Tony commanded, quickly pulling them down the tunnel. Jumping onto the plane just on time, the flight assistant gave them an amused smile before directed them to their first class seats.
The kids settled down quickly in the huge, comfortable seats and Thor pretended to listen to Loki's lecture on getting lost for about five minutes. Tony checked that they were all belted in before forcing Loki to wear his too. "Yes Loki, you are a God! But let's see how Godly you feel when you die of a plane crashing!" Loki reluctantly clicked his belt into place, muttering about discomfort. The kids all pulled out comics and little toys to keep them occupied and Tony was grateful for the quiet at last.
It was the billionaire's favourite part about flying and he stared avidly out of the window as the plane took flight. Every now and then he turned around to see Loki staring at him. "What?" He asked after a while, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He raised an eyebrow at Loki who was blushing slightly. "You just...look cute." Loki murmured, seeming very embarrassed. Tony smirked, "I take it that means no lecture then?" He asked hopefully.
"Trust me, if you hadn't found him, you would be beyond dead."
"Nice to know I'm loved." Tony complained in a sarcastic voice.
"You're welcome." Loki replied, picking up a magazine boredly.
"Loki!" Tony whined.
"Fine, you are loved." Loki said with a sigh. Tony grinned. "Didn't say by me." Loki added a moment later. Tony whined again. Loki just smirked.
"Everything looks tiny." Steve said in awe, pressing his hands up against the small window.
"Duh, we're high up genius." Clint replied, briefly looking up from his comic.
"Someone said my name?" Bruce butted in, which made Thor snort.
"We all know I'm the genius." Clint said proudly.
"No." Natasha said in a quiet voice. The boys stared at her in surprise and she struggled for a moment to find a word, "I am." And the boys, all still shocked from her speaking, nodded dumbly. Natasha looked smug for the rest of the flight.
Four hours and forty eight minutes later, Tony was fast asleep on Loki's shoulder (for once he realised that the fact he was shorter than the God had advantages) and the kids were bored out of their minds as the plane came into land. Loki was reluctant when it came to waking Tony; he looked adorable. He shook the other awake gently. "Time to get up." He encouraged.
"Wha-" Tony mumbled, his eyes opening slightly and looking lost. It made Loki bite his lip. Too cute. Way too cute. "Plane's landed." Loki explained quickly. Tony mumbled something which was cut off by him yawning. Loki leaned down and and carefully pressed his lips against Tony's. The billionaire was shocked at first but soon he pushed his warm lips back against Loki's, seeming much more awake now.
"Told you to get up." Loki said as he pulled away.
"Well if that happens every time I don't do as I'm told..." Tony trailed off with a smirk as he got to his feet. A loud tutting noise interrupted them as they leant in to kiss again, this time both of them fully awake. Tony turned to face a young couple. "Something bothering you?" Tony asked in a tone which heavily implied that he didn't really care. "Well actually, would you mind not kissing like that in front of us?" The man asked, putting a protective arm around his wife.
"You have a problem with public signs of affection?" Tony asked curiously, only the slightest trace of menace in his voice. "No but...you're both guys." The woman spoke with obvious disgust. "But," Tony replied, smirking as he looked at the woman's hairy upper lip, "By the looks of it, so are you." The woman gasped loudly and Tony and Loki left the plane with the kids, leaving the stupid young couple behind.
Loki looked at Tony, who was still smirking and grinned to himself. Tony's sass really was rather hilarious when it wasn't directed at him. "I'm hungry!" Clint complained loudly. Tony raised his eyebrows at the boy and Clint looked down, "Please may we get something to eat?" He corrected himself. Loki checked his watch, of course it should be at least eight am. "Of course." He answered for the other. The airport had countless places for breakfast and Tony found one quickly. He ordered a large Starbucks coffee which made Loki shake his head. "You have too much caffeine, it's not good for you." He told Tony, sounding pathetically worried and instantly regretting it. "Caffeine is my best friend." Tony replied with a shrug, "I mean, I drank way more before you were here. I used to-" Tony stopped quickly, with the wide eyed look of someone who had said too much. "Finish that sentence." Loki demanded coolly as he paid for croissants and juice for the kids. Tony looked ashamed, "I used to stay up all night, every night and make stuff." He admitted. Tony waited to be chastised but Loki simply put his arms around the other. "Never again." He growled protectively in the other's ear. "Promise." He demanded
"Whatever, I promise." Tony muttered, taking a sip of his coffee and sliding out of the hug before Loki got him to agree to anything else.
The seven of them sat down and the kids stuffed themselves with croissants and drained apple juice, hungrier than any of them had realised.
"Are we going to another tower?" Bruce asked eagerly.
"No, no. My house is much better than the tower." Tony told them grandly.
Loki raised his eyebrows but continued sipping his juice.
"When're we leaving?" Steve said.
"As soon as the car arrives."
After what seemed like eternity to the kids, a man walked through the airport doors, swinging his keys around his fingers. He didn't look like a chauffeur and the kids and Loki watched, confused, as Tony stood up as soon as he had made eye contact with the other guy. The way the billionaire's eyes lit up made Loki look closer at the other man. He was tall, handsome and dark skinned. His hair was black and neat, cut to a military style, yet then man didn't look serious and strict.
He grinned when Tony stood up and Loki felt an awful stab of jealously as Tony cried, "Rhodey!" And sprinted over to the other man, throwing himself into his arms. Loki grit his teeth and looked at the kids. "Come on." He said as calmly as possible and started walking over to the two guys who had now let go of one another. They stopped the conversation they were in the middle of as Loki got close with the children. "Aw man, I didn't think you were serious." Rhodey said in disbelief as he looked at Loki and the kids. Loki glared at him, "Tony?" The God demanded an explanation. "Oh right." Tony said, "Loki, Rhodey. Rhodey Loki. Rhodey is my full time best friend and practically my brother. He's a gifted pilot and I would probably be dead without him. Loki's well...I think you know him." Tony finished awkwardly.
"Yeah, isn't he the crazy space guy who tried to kill you and take your tower?" Rhodey asked tactlessly.
"Yeah but-" Tony began sounding defensive.
"Loki tried to kill you?" Steve butted in, his blue eyes wide.
"Oh God, it really is him." Rhodey breathed, looking at Steve.
"He hasn't changed in the slightest." Tony snickered into Rhodey's ear. This made Loki jealous again and he ignored them, "Of course not, Steve." Loki reassured the little Captain.
"And the others..." Rhodey whispered, his eyes flickering over the other four kids. Tony just nodded and ran a hand through his hair quickly. Rhodey lowered his voice, obviously hoping that Loki wouldn't catch the words that from followed, "Tony, what the hell are you doing with Loki? Why is he here? He's evil for Gods sake!" Loki flinched slightly. He had forgotten how it felt to have that word applied to him. Tony answered quickly, his voice quiet and urgent, "He's not evil Rhodey, I promise. He's brave and loyal and kind and...he's changed alright?" Rhodey just raised his eyebrows and didn't say anything. Tony shrugged and turned to the kids. "Rhodey bought an army jeep!" He told them, which made them all look excited.
They hurried to the door way and, feeling awfully like the third wheel, Loki fell into step with Tony. "So, is it the fun jeep?" Tony asked Rhodey.
"Yeah the fun jeep worked out great last time." Rhodey replied. They both laughed loudly and Loki was confused, not even knowing what they were talking about. The jealously was becoming overwhelming, building up more and more every time Rhodey even talked to Tony. To his Tony. Loki was scowling as they all got into the jeep, but he suddenly noticed Tony shudder as he sat down. "What's wrong?" He asked anxiously. "N-nothing." Tony replied, closing his eyes tightly. He placed a hand on his chest and flinched, at something none of them could see. He started to breathe faster. "Not again..." Tony moaned. The kids looked terrified, "What's happening?" Clint whispered.
"I don't know!" Thor replied looking horrified. Instinctively, Loki grabbed Tony's hand and with his other, took Tony's chin. "Tony, look at me." Tony's eyes flickered open and Loki was scared to see that they were filled with pain. "Look at me, calm down." The God ordered. Tony looked at him for a long time before his breathing started to slow and he took his hand off his chest.
"What was that?" Loki demanded. Tony looked ashamed and stared at his hands as he delivered his answer. "Panic attack. Haven't had one in a long time. It's just...the jeep. Memories and stuff." Loki nodded, planning to find out more about this when Tony had recovered. The jeep went over a pit hole which sent Tony's eyes flying wide open in terror again, before he calmed down quickly. "Sorry." He muttered. Loki couldn't even think of anything that say that would express his feelings towards Tony apologising for a panic attack.
"That was scary." Bruce mumbled to the others who murmured in agreement.
"What d'you reckon Tony's house will be like?" Clint asked enthusiastically, moving the subject on quickly. "Huge!" Thor emphasised. "Bigger than a place! But not my palace."
"You don't have a palace." Bruce pointed out.
"Oh yes." Thor remembered, looking disappointed. Happier now that Rhodey was away from them in the front of the jeep, Loki slipped his hand into Tony's who gripped back happily. Loki looked smug.
Finally they started pulling into a long driveway. Tony looked less tired than he had done all day. "Home sweet home." Tony said walking down the long sunny path to the huge double door. "Welcome to Stark Mansion." He said turning to face them with a smirk.
"Woah..." Steve said staring up at the huge white building.
"This is your house?" Loki asked, his eyes wide.
"Yep." Tony said casually.
"I'll see you soon." Rhodey butted in. "Have fun on your honeymoon." And he drove off, music blaring, before Tony could even reply. Tony opened the doors, and the kids ran eagerly inside. "Gods Tony," Loki breathed in wonder, "This place is even better than Stark Towers." Tony was about to reply when the screens surrounding them switched on and Jarvis spoke. "Welcome home, Sir." The computer greeted Tony, who smiled.
"It's good to be back." Loki rolled his eyes at the cliche answer and Tony laughed.
"Make sure the kids don't get lost or break something." Tony instructed the Jarvis, "I'm going to have a shower."
"What do I do?" Loki asked, looking around the huge room.
"Loki, you're on holiday. You do whatever you want."
***
"The bedrooms are even bigger!"
"Guys, he has a pool!"
"Check out the view!" The kids cried as they ran around the huge building. This place was more incredible than anywhere they had been before. "I can't believe Tony lives here!" Bruce exclaimed. "Mr stark has never been one for subtlety." Jarvis said, "Don't break anything and there is a map if you need one." The kids laughed.
"Y'know what we should play?" Steve said excitedly. The others shook their heads.
"Hide and seek!"
Five minutes later, Clint called out, "I'm coming, ready or not!" The game was on.
Thor dived into a kitchen cabinet, shutting the door quickly behind him. "Score." He whispered to himself as he stared directly into the face of a large bag of sweets. Thor settled himself down, pulling the bag onto his lap and leaning against the back of the cupboard. With a contented sigh, he opened the bag and grinned to himself. Clint would never find him here.
Bruce stood on tiptoes and pressed his thumb to the scanner. After. Moment the light turned green and a keypad popped up. Bruce grinned to himself, knowing Tony. 1969. The first man on the moon. The rocket was a piece of engineering genius. The door popped open and Bruce slid inside, accidentally leaving the heavy door open behind him. He forced himself not to get distracted by the interesting looking equipment and slid under the desk. "Good luck finding me here." He thought with a smile.
Natasha briefly wondered whether she could be bothered to find a hiding place. The game was fun and all, but this place was huge and she wanted to explore. She wondered down the stairs, going as far down as she could until she was confronted by a big glass door with a bunch of security measures. This made her curious. She took another step closer but a voice spoke from behind her. "What are you doing down here?" Natasha whipped her head around to see Tony in clean clothes, his hair still soaking. "Hide and to go seeking." She replied. She wasn't sure if that was how you said it but Tony seemed to understand just fine. "I'll let you hide in here, and you don't tell Loki that i'm working. Deal?" Tony asked raising his eyebrows and tapping something into the number pad. Natasha nodded happily. She would surely win this game now.
Steve shuffled boredly on his feet as he took the elevator up to the roof. At last, he stepped out into the cold air and looked around. He was partly up here to hide and partly up here to have another look at the breathtaking view. It made him gasp out loud as he saw the shimmering sea and sand that Iaid in front of him. The turquoise blue stretched like it would never end. Steve could stare at this forever.
Loki walked around the rooms, searching for Tony. Once he had checked the kitchen, it struck him. The basement. He walked quickly to the elevator and took it down to the basement. Sure enough he saw Tony through the glass, taking a car apart and blasting music. He tapped on the glass, his eyebrows raised. As soon as Tony saw him his expression melted into one of guilt. The billionaire quickly hid his screwdriver behind his back and attempted an innocent smile. The door slid open and Loki walked in, "Seriously Tony?" Loki questioned.
"I've been away from them so long!" Tony immediately made an excuse as he gave a loving look towards his cars. Loki turned around and saw some cardboard boxes. "You did not bring work with you." Loki growled in disbelief. Tony hung his head. "You're unbelievable." Loki said sounding incredibly irritated. "Sorry." Tony mumbled.
"Work addict." Loki accused which made Tony shake his head.
"I am not a work addict!" Tony protested.
"Then prove it. No work for the rest of the holiday."
"But-" Tony began. Loki cry him off.
"You can't do it?" He challenged.
"Can so!" Tony shot back, "Anything you can do, I can do."
"Then it's settled. Good luck." Loki smirked before turning to leave the basement.
"Jerk." Tony mumbled as Loki closed the door. From under the table, Natasha laughed.
"Ste-eve?" Clint said in his best serial killer voice. "I'm coming for you..." Clint wandered into the kitchen. He paused as he stared at the everlasting walls of shelves. How was he ever going to find someone hiding in here? If they were in here that was. Clint thought for a moment, until he was interrupted.
Crunch crunch crunch.
Wait? Was that... munching? Clint quickly located where the noises were coming from, until he was standing directly in front of a smooth white rectangular cupboard. With one swift movement, Clint wrenched the door open to reveal what was inside. "Mmff?!" Thor was sitting inside the cupboard, surrounded by wrappers of sweets and chocolate bars, while he was currently clutching a packet of crisps, his mouth filled with half eaten potato snacks. "Thor!" Clint said eagerly. "Welcome to the team!" Finally. An ally at last. Thor grinned and handed Clint the bag of chips. "Nice to be here." Thor replied, sliding out of the cupboard. Oh well. It was cramped in there anyway.
Clint and Thor walked down the corridors, not really having any sort of system. They were just getting bored when they walked past a door and stopped. "Isn't that-" Thor cut Clint off with a nod. Since when did Tony leave the lab door open? Within seconds they had burst through the door and Thor had started looking under desks. "Steve?" Clint called out hopefully, his series voice being put into practice. "Aha!" Thor cried and Clint whipped around to see Bruce sheepishly emerging out from Tony's work table. "I can't believe I left the door open!" He cried out. Clint and Thor laughed, "Come on, let's find the others!" Thor called happily and the three of them set off again.
"Now where would Natasha be?" Bruce wandered aloud. "Somewhere no one else would be, possible where no one else is allowed, and probably near Tony."
All three boys looked at each other before saying at the same time, "The basement!" They cautiously took the elevator down there, as well as a series of steps, before knocking on the door. "Come in." Tony's voice called from the other side.
"Have you seen Natasha anywhere?" Clint asked casually.
"We need her." Bruce added.
"Yes, we heard she was somewhere around here." Thor finished.
"Well, I'm not sure I'd really like you poking around in here, there's all sorts of dangerous equipme-"
"She's down here!" Bruce yelled, who had already crouched down check under the large desks and tables. Natasha giggled and climbed out.
Now it was just time to find who Clint knew it would come down to. "Let's find Steve."
"I still can't believe he's won." Clint said in a grumpy tone as they trudged towards the lift.
"Where haven't we been?" Bruce asked. Natasha tugged his sleeve and pointed up.
"The roof!" Clint exclaimed, understanding at once. Natasha nodded and the four of them piled into the lift, all trying to slam the button at once. The lift sped upwards and opened. They all saw Steve, who was just standing on the edge of the roof, arms resting on the balcony rail and staring at the sea. "Found you!" Clint cried. Steve spun around, taken by surprise.
"Huh? Oh the game!" He said to himself.
"You won!" Bruce commended.
"Oh." Steve said, glimpsing back at the view he had been watching for the last who knows how long. Grinning, he decided not to tell them he had forgotten the game altogether. The annoyed look on Clint's face completed the picture. "I knew you'd never find me up here."
Evening fell, the first evening in the new place for most of the people in the house, and they started to drift to different rooms. Tony and Loki were in the living room (Tony couldn't stand being in the basement and not being allowed to work) which made Loki very happy. Tony was leaning against him and they were binge watching Supernatural in a cinema room even bigger than the one at the towers. The kids drifted to their new rooms and were trying to get to sleep. The beds were huge and comfortable but none of the, seemed to be able to fall asleep in the unfamiliar new place. Thor was about to get up when the lights in his room clicked on and Clint walked in looking sheepish. He was followed in by Natasha. Bruce. Steve. "So.." Clint said, "You guys can't sleep either?