A Second Chance

Chapter 17

"Wow...so this is your graduation day pic" the now five-year old Ava grinned looking down at the pic. Tony shrugs "guess where I am". Ava scans the picture while saying "Ah...where there is a height gap, there is Tony Stark". Tony swiftly swats her back making the kid shoot him a glare, just to be met with a glare of his own.

Bruce chuckles from behind them as he and Adrain look up from the papers on the table "the Tony Stark is swatting an innocent little girl. That's not fare now, you don't want the over protective father to do the same to you". "Yeah....you would end up flying back though" Ava snorts making her twin roll his eyes "he's your uncle Ava, respect". "See that kid is so much better at respecting elders". "Who's to blame here huh. She spends most of her time with you, apart from Adrain ofcourse" Bruce laughs.

The twins were inseparable. They would always be together, except for when they would be learning something different from the Avengers. Ava had picked up on Tony's personality, spending a lot of time with him. The man wasn't the best at taking care of a kid but he did his best to make the kids feel loved. Adrain was more like his parents. He had his mother's soft nature and his father's manner and etiquettes. Both the kids were pretty smart for their age and were physically strong. None of them had yet shown any signs of their mother's powers but the supper soldier gene had kicked in already, especially for Adrain. And when I say kicked in, it literally means a kick to Clint's nose, which broke the bone, at the age of one.

The Avengers were doing their best to find a way to save all the people Thanos wipped off. There were times they would go insane but a comforting hug from the little ones was all it took to even calm down the hulk.

The kids jump down from their seats and run out of the room when they hear their father's voice "dinner time!". The super soldier smiles down at the smiling faces and sets up the plates with Clint as all the Avengers pile into the room.

Taking their seats, everyone began eating. Adrain clears his throat before looking at his father "tomorrow is the parent's meeting. The teacher has asked for......both the parents". Steve's face falls but the kid gives him a small smile making him relax a bit. "Would we ever meet our mom...?" A smalls voice draws everyone's attention towards the little girl. Her twin was quick to see the tears forming in her eyes and immediately wraps his arms around her from his seat. The girl just snuggles into her brother's arms and sniffles softly. The sight broke Steve's heart.

They never really had a proper conversation about this topic. Steve stares at the twins as the boy helps the girl calm down and smiles at her "don't be sad Ava. We many not have a mother but there are so many other people by our side". The Avengers sat surprised at the wise words coming from the five year old. The girl looks at her father "did....did she leave us?.....does she not love us?".

Steve gets up from his chair abruptly "that's not true. She loved you two even before you were born. She would never leave you". "Then why isn't she here with us!" The girl too gets up and stands on the chair. Adrain holds her hand to prevent her from falling. "Ava I told you she'll be back some day" Steve's voice got shaky, not believing in what he said. "daddy....everyone at school has a mother. She comes to drop them to school and also pick them after school! When the teacher asked us to say something about our mother.....we.... I....." She breaks down into tears "why don't you atleast tell us where she is....if she's even there..." Steve falls back onto his chair in shock. "Ava.... We talked about this.." Adrain says in a hushed tone but the girl tugs her hand out of his grip "we did but how long are we supposed to stay in the dark Adie! He doesn't tell us anything about her and when we ask the others they just change the topic....".

The girl clutches her head and steps down the chair. "What....what's happening?" Hearing her scared voice, everyone gets off their chair and surrounds the girl. She looks up at her father, just to see him stumble back with wide eyes. Looking around, everyone gave similar expressions making the girl run out of the kitchen. The others sprint behind her to see her enter the closest bedroom. No one interrupted as the girl stared at her reflection into the mirror, her eyes now a shade of lavender.

She falls down on her butt and stares at the reflection. Steve walks towards her and wraps his arms around her. Natasha had to drag Tony away from the room to give the family some privacy. Steve pulls the shaking her on his lap and rubs her back soothingly "I'm sorry darling.....for not telling you about your mother..." He glances at his other child sit beside him and smiles "I.... I wasn't strong enough to talk about her... She was my soulmate...my other half...and loosing her... I was heart broken.... I was unable to bring up the topic cause it still hurts.... Your mother was a strong woman kids. She stood by my side in every situation and was also a brave fighter. She loved you two but.....some event took place and almost half of the earth's population was wiped out ..... Your mother...a part of it.."

He extends his one arm and pulls Adrain into the hug. There was silence for a while before the girl spoke "sorry daddy..... I was rude back then..." Steve chuckles making the kids look up at him, Ava's eyes back to her normal blue shade "it's okay dear. That outburst did reveal something.". "My eyes!" She looks up into the mirror then at Steve in confusion"they're back to normal...".

The father nods "I'll tell about everything after lunch. For now let's go eat". The girl's eyes widen "my chicken sandwich!!". She gets out of her father's arms and dashes out of the room. Hearing a sigh from the boy beside him, Steve smiles and looks down "you're a strong kid Adrain. I'm proud of you". The boy smiles as his father kisses his forehead "can we go to the amusement park today?". Steve nods and gets up, pulling the kid to his feet "for sure".