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GEMINI DRAGGED HERSELF into the kitchen during the early hours of the afternoon. She had been struggling with her sleep pattern more frequently as the Winter began to approach New York. She had been taking the later shifts with Theo at The Raven and the early shifts at Braddock's. Needless to say, she had been wearing herself down to the bone until Nate noticed his sister struggling one particularly rammed bar night and forced her to go home before she passed out.
She didn't make her presence known to the others, she just wanted a sandwich and to return to her room with Dixon. Sadly, that didn't happen.
"Hey Gem." Joe called from the couch just outside the open kitchen making the woman jump. "Sorry." He quickly apologised, hopping up off the coach to join her. She waved at him tiredly. "You okay?" She nodded. "Gemini."
She nodded again. "I'm fine, Joe. Just tired." She replied turning to Brit with a ham sandwich in hand. "Don't mean for this to be rude, but what are you doing here?"
Joe scratched the back of his neck before shaking his head. "Never mind, I'll ask someone else." He shrugged, causing confusion to grace the woman's features.
"What'd you wanna ask me?" She asked him.
"It's nothing, really. You're tired, I get it. I'll ask Taury or Theo." He tried to deflect.
"Theo's at Braddock's and Taury's at The Old Style. And before you say Toni, she's working nights and Nate is at Braddock's too. So what'd you wanna ask me?" She stopped him, knowing the man too well.
"I was just wondering if you could babysit Becky for me. I've got a shift at the bar and I can't change it cause Candy's being a bitch about her 'needing to have a break', even after she spent a week off for no apparent reason, but it's fine, I'll just get a sitter or something." He rambled on quickly, lucky for Gemini she was used to the crazed ramblings of one Joseph Talken and held her hand up.
"It's fine, I'd love to babysit Becky. That's no problem, you don't ever have to ask." She informed him. "And you're right Candy's a bitch."
"Are you sure, cause if you're tired I don't want to add to anymore stress for you..." She stopped him once more.
"Josephine, my dear British friend that I love so dearly, it's fine. It'll be fun." She insisted. "Becky and I will watch some Disney movies, play with Dixon, play some video games. And if you have to work late I can ask Tony to set up a little bed for her in my room." She offered.
Joe tilted his head, smiling at the girl's sudden enthusiasm. "Are you sure that's okay with you?" She nodded again, insisting.
"I promise. I love Becky so much, I'd never say no. And I've told you multiple times that if you needed help with her I would do that." She urged him. "I'm sure that it's fine, and also Clint is visiting again with Laura so she can play with Lila and Cooper if she wants too." She suggested.
Joe smiled, hugging the girl. "Thank you so much. See, this is why I know I can count on you for anything, and this is why we all love you Zodiac." He complimented.
She held her hand under her chin. "That's why I'm the angel." She joked. "I'll pick up after school if you want too, I don't mind. Get Tony to drop me off." He thanked her again, double checking that it was okay. "Quick question though. Two actually, does Becky have any food allergies I don't know about? And depending on how long you've been there, do you know where the other's are?"
Joe smiled at the woman's concern of his little girl. He knew that Gemini cared about his daughter the most out of his friends with how much she had helped him during the battle. "She doesn't have any allergies, Gem. As for the others, some are out in the world probably getting banned from Walmart and Target." This gained him a laugh. "Most of them are training downstairs. The rest are still asleep cause they were up at stupid o'clock in The Raven last night."
"Tony?" She immediately pondered.
"Indeed." He smirked, looking down to his watch. "I'll see you later, love. Love you Zodiac."
"Love you too, Josephine." She replied with an innocent smile.
"You're never not gonna call me that after that incident, are you?" Her smiled widened more.
"Absolutely not." He rolled his eyes, leaving the girl alone.
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"Hi Auntie Gem. Hi Tony." Becky greeted quietly as she climbed into the car.
"Hey Becks. You okay?" She nodded. "Good. Look your dad's working tonight and couldn't change his shift."
"Are you looking after me?" She interrupted her. With a nod from Gemini, a smile crept onto the girl's features. "Yay! Can I play with Dixon?"
"How about we get some stuff from your place in case your dad has to work overtime." Gemini suggested. Becky quickly hugged the woman from behind the chair. Tony watched the interaction, a smirk on his lips.
Pulling up to Joe's apartment, Gemini got Becky out and they both ascended up the stairs. Gemini unlocked the door, using her spare key given to her by Joe and opened the door.
"Pack your PJs and clothes for tomorrow, okay? And a toy if you want." She told the young girl as they walked to her room. She was happy to see the room she had helped with, holding new wall art that wasn't there before. Becky quickly pulled out a suitcase form under her bed, the same one she had moved with.
Sitting on the young girl's bed she watched Becky pick up her belongings. "Auntie Gem?" She hummed in reply. "Can I bring my teddy?"
Gemini's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Yeah, I don't see why you wouldn't."
"Cause people in my class say that sleeping with a teddy is for babies." She replied. Gemini sighed annoyed.
"Look kiddo, kids are evil little pains in the butt. They'll do anything to make others feel upset because they're upset. If you sleep with a teddy, it doesn't matter to them and it shouldn't matter to you." She told her. Even after all the years that Gemini hadn't been in school and kids still hadn't changed. "I'll tell you something but you've got to promise not to tell Uncle Nate."
Becky smiled. "I promise."
"He still sleeps with a teddy that he's had since he was little. And he's even proud of it. You're an eight-year-old girl, you should still sleep with a teddy, that's normal." She explained, picking up the stuffed elephant. "Don't be ashamed of sleeping with a teddy, especially if it's the one your dad gave you when you were little."
"How did you know that?" Becky asked her, taking the elephant from Gemini's hands.
"I was with Joe when he bought it." Becky smiled placing it in the case.
Gemini helped her pack the night bag, zipping it up and picking it up. Guiding her out of the room they made their way back down the stairs, Gemini locking the apartment behind her.
After taking a detour into the McDonalds drive thru, the three returned to the Compound. Carrying her food into through the doors, Gemini's ears were met with the yells from an argument. An argument between the Maximoff twins.
"Does this happen a lot?" Becky asked quietly. Gemini could tell that she didn't like the shouting.
"Not all the time, but yeah, sometimes." She explained, guiding her into the open kitchen area. Boosting Becky onto a barstool, she whistled sharply. "Why is whenever I walk into the kitchen and you two are shouting, Pietro is always doing something stupid?"
"Hey!" He yelled, annoyance written on his features and a pout on his lip.
"Tell me I'm wrong." She challenged.
"Think about your next response carefully if you want to live to see your twenty-first." Clint voiced, carrying Nathaniel in his arms. Pietro fell silent.
Becky thanked Gemini, opening her McDonalds bag. The smell infected the room as Gemini placed her's down.
"Where's our McDonalds?" Sam asked, slightly offended.
"At the drive thru." Becky didn't miss a beat to use her sassy attitude towards Sam. Laughter was heard from many of the group.
"Gemini, control her." Sam warned.
"Or what, you'll assault my Goddaughter?" Gemini fired back at him. The two girls smirked at each other. "I'll get Scott to kick your ass again, Sam."
"It was a one time thing!" He argued.
"I'll get him over and we'll test it." She informed.
"From San Fransisco?" Sam asked.
"She has her ways." Tony spoke up, walking in with his food. "She's friends with me, and I have a plane." She thanked him before helping Becky down and the pair disappeared from the room, grabbing Gemini's laptop to sit in the garden with their food.
"Do not bother us, we're watching movies." Gemini informed them, kissing Bucky's cheek as she walked passed him.
"Disney movies?" Natasha asked her.
"Would Auntie Gem watch anything else with me?" Becky asked her curiously, slight hints of sass hidden under the question.
"She's got a point." Bucky agreed, folding his arms as he leaned against the wall.
The two walked out into the garden, Gemini sitting on a chair with Becky on her lap with the laptop in front of them on a small table. Bucky soon joined them, knocking Gemini's shoulder to tell her he was there.
"Hi Bucky." Becky greeted him kindly. Gemini smiled at him, opening the McDonalds bag and pulling out a burger.
"I was gonna give you it in there just to annoy Sam, but he's already been picked on by Becky and me." She explained making him chuckle. Wrapping his arm around her, Becky picked the first movie for them: Brother Bear
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Once it turned dark, the three of them retreated into the living room and watched the movies with the rest of the Avengers. They had taken a small break watching the movies to give Dixon the love and affection that the emotional support animal deserved.
Joe had messaged the woman informing that he had to work late with how busy The Raven was. Gemini didn't mind, immediately asking Tony to set up a small bed for Becky in her room.
The group were watching yet another Disney movie: Princess and the Frog. Gemini had noticed that Becky had become a lot more quiet as the hours passed, not even speaking to her. This put her on edge, worrying about the little girl in her arms.
She tried not to let it show, but Bucky had noticed her mood change along with Becky's. He tapped her hand, catching her attention from the TV screen. "What's wrong?"
"I'm fine." She shrugged, eyebrow raised.
"I can see you're not, please tell me what's wrong Gem." She realised what he meant.
She looked down to Becky, who was snuggled comfortably in her arms. "I'll tell you later." He nodded, kissing her head.
Laying her head on her shoulder, Gemini watched Cooper and Lila on the floor, the pair play fighting and not paying attention to the movie. She smiled and her eyes wandered to Becky, but she didn't smile. She wasn't even watching the screen, she stared off into space, a blank expression all over her features.
Gemini tapped her shoulder, catching her attention. "You tired?" Becky shook her head. Gemini sighed, kissing the back of the girl's head. "Come with me, okay?" She picked her off her lap and led her out the room quietly.
Closing her bedroom door, Gemini turned to Becky, crouching in front of her. "What's wrong kiddo?" She held her hand before Becky could say something, "And don't say nothing. You're your father's daughter, through and through." She added.
"Am I pathetic?" She asked Gemini suddenly. Her voice so quiet, Gemini nearly missed it. Nearly. The question the girl asked her almost knocked the wind out the woman.
"Of course you're not, why would you even think that?" She asked, concerned.
Becky shrugged. "People in my class say I'm pathetic because my mom and dad aren't together. That I'm pathetic cause I come from a broken home." She explained. Gemini's heart hurt at the confession. "They call me pathetic because my dad has a 'weird' accent and my mom never picks me up. They say it because my dad works two jobs." Becky's eyes welled with tears as she started to become distressed at the comments. "My mom would call me it when she'd drink to."
Gemini pulled the girl into the tightest hug she could, holding her as she cried into her shoulder. Gemini was ready to go marching into the school and bitch-slap every kid that hurt this girl's feelings, every child that made her feel this way. Pulling Becky away at arms length, she wiped the tears from her face.
She was prepared to commit murder towards Joe's ex for calling her own daughter such a horrible thing. Gemini had never gotten along with Becky's mum - for good reason - but hearing this gave her a new profound hatred towards the woman. Seeing the little girl so hurt by these words made her see that she had been called it more than once by the woman.
"Look at me." She started. "You're not pathetic, Becky. Anyone who says that you are is not worth the time of day, and they're certainly not worth your tears. In all of our eyes, you are so much better than any of them. Don't ever change yourself for anybody who says that to you, they are not worth it. You should know this already but I'll tell you anyway, you are so loved and you are so special. If the kids in school can't see that and your mom can't, than they're blind and stupid. Now come here." She held open her arms again, allowing Becky to wrap her small arms around.
"I love you Auntie Gem." Becky sniffled, kissing the woman's cheek.
"I love you too, Becky, more than you will ever know." She smiled. "You get yourself ready for bed now, I'll be in the living room, okay?" Becky nodded, smiling at the older woman just before Gemini left the room.
Returning into the living room, Gemini let her anger show, her features reading it. "What's wrong Gem?" Natasha asked, catching the attention of everyone in the room.
"Tony, just a quick question. If I kill a bunch of third graders can you make it look like an accident for me?" She seethed.
"What happened?" Clint asked her.
"Children are pricks and I want to injure them for hurting my niece." She grumbled, dropping herself beside Bucky. "Little shits calling her pathetic, I'll kick out their fucking kneecaps with a baseball bat." She ranted angrily.
"You're very protective." Sam stated.
Her head shot up, glaring at Sam but her gaze softened when she remembered he didn't understand why. "When you know the shitty household that that little girl had to live in with a psychologically abusive alcoholic for years and was banned from seeing her father because her mother forbade it, you get a bit protective when they cry cause you never want the kids you care about to be in pain for even a second." She explained not moving her eyes from his to get her point across.
"Wow." Rhodey thought aloud. "No wonder you and Joe are protective."
"Joe's nowhere near as protective as Gemini is." She agreed with what Tony said. "Gemini's the biggest protector of those she cares about. She broke someone's nose for hurting Taury when they were younger."
"They called her a dirty Nazi because her family were from Germany, so I broke their nose and explained why they left in the first place." She clarified. She looked to Bucky nervously, she didn't know what he thought about this. He smiled at her, holding out his hand. He admired how she cared for her family and what she would do for them. Going to the ends of the earth to protect them.
"We get it." Bruce replied, nodding understandingly.
"You can't commit capital crime though, Zodiac, no matter how much you want to." Tony talked her down. Gemini sighed loudly, calming herself down. "Are you calm?"
She nodded just as Becky reappeared, dressed in her PJs. She went towards Gemini, and was lifted onto her knee. Bucky could see the tear stains down the little girl's cheeks. Everyone returned to the movie, not wanting to bring attention to the situation they had just spoken about.
Bucky held out his right arm to Becky's cheek, wiping away the tear stains, smirking at her. "It's okay."
She smiled, finally noticing the man's metal arm. "Bucky?" She asked, catching the group's attention. "What happened to your arm?"
Bucky was at a loss for words for a moment. He didn't want to tell her the truth, she was too young to hear that. "I... I lost it a long time ago."
Becky nodded. "Did you lose it in World War Two cause I've heard Sam and Tony call you and Steve dinosaurs?" She asked bluntly making Gemini laugh into her shoulder.
Bucky smiled at the girl's innocence. "Yeah, I lost it in World War Two, Becky." She nodded.
"Okay."
Sam was curious about something as that subject ended. "Becky?" She hummed in reply, turning to Sam. "Why aren't you afraid of Bucky and his arm?"
Becky shrugged. "He treats Auntie Gem nicely and she's happy with him. I'm happy she's happy." Gemini smiled, kissing the little girl's head. "That and he's still a person, just a bit different." She pointed to the arm. Bucky forced back the overwhelming tears he felt. He had never actually been complimented like that, ever. He held up his hand, earning a high five from the young girl.
"Joe has raised a good one." Clint admitted.
"I'll tell him you said that." Gemini informed.
"Technically you won't tell him." Natasha fired.
"Was that a mute joke?" Gemini asked, shocked. Natasha smirk answered it. "You bitch."
"Language." Becky and Steve both said.
"Sorry Steve, I forgot you don't like that kinda talk." She replied mischievously.
Steve glared at Tony. "You told her about it too?" Gemini laughed, leaning his head back onto Bucky's shoulder, Becky doing the same to her.
The rest of the night Becky stayed by Gemini and Bucky, sitting in between the two until she fell asleep, head on Bucky's knee. Gemini smiled at him before picking the girl up into her arms and carrying her to her bed and tucking her in.
She came back out with her nightwear in hand. Tapping Bucky on the shoulder. "Can I get changed in your room, please?" He nodded, smirking at her.
"I never truly realised how good you are with kids, Gem." Natasha admitted to her.
"Yeah, you're really good with kids." Rhodey agreed.
"You'd make a very good mother, Lady Gemini." Thor commented, making Gemini and Bucky both flush red. She coughed, thanking him before quickly retreating from the room to get herself ready for bed.
Her mind began to drift as she made her way back to her room, settling under her covers with Dixon and Becky both in sight.
She would make a good mother.
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I hope you enjoyed this chapter
Some Becky and Gemini content
Lots of Disney (as per usual)
Protective Gemini is (personally) my favourite Gemini
Do you think Gemini would make a good mother?
The next chapter will be out soon
Kayla Lou xxx