I Thought You Were Different: Part 2

Move

"I'm sorry, babies, mommy kinda lost it for a minute," you whispered as you lay each of them down in their cribs one by one, placing a soft kiss on their foreheads before pulling up their blankets. "I'll put extra in daddy's swear jar, I promise."

The sounds of music from their mobiles filled the room and you dimmed the lights, taking a seat in the rocking chair at the corner so that you could stay until they were asleep. There were a few gurgles and giggles, and an attempt at a cry that was quickly silenced with your hand gently over Grant's tummy, but all in all, the three were asleep faster than you would have thought. You turned to the door to leave, but stopped, unsure if you even wanted to go.

Steve and Tony were still with Anna when you left; you knew that they'd both listen to her pleas to convince you to let her stay, but you had no interest in them. She had no reason to gain your trust, and definitely no reason to believe that she had a right to get to know her grandchildren. You shook away the thought that you had actually considered giving her a chance, but when you thought the worst of her just by taking the babies out of the house, you were set in your belief that trust could never be given.

Closing your eyes to simply enjoy the soothing sounds of sleeping babies around you, and to allow yourself a moment to calm down, it only took a few minutes before you were asleep and dreaming along with them.

~~~

"Mr. Stark, where are my mommy and daddy?"

Tony had been working in his basement lab on the next weapon in his vast arsenal when the young version of yourself walked through the door to find him. He had been avoiding you and this topic for about a week now, having seen no sign of your parents and had been unsuccessful in finding them since they left you in his care. He had no idea how to talk to a five-year-old, despite the fact that he acted like one much of the time, and he knew that no matter how he gave you the news, it would hurt you beyond any pain he knew of himself.

"Hey, (Y/N), what are you doing down here?" he asked softly, setting his tools on the steel work station. "I thought I said that you should stay upstairs?"

"Yeah, but I got bored. JARVIS kept trying to teach me things and that's not fun at all."

"Learning can be fun, can't it?"

"You're weird," you snickered, climbing up on one of the stools next to him. It shook slightly at your uncoordinated movements so he reached out to grab it and hold it steady until you plopped down to sit, swinging your legs carelessly and resting your chin in your hand against the table. "So whatcha workin' on?"

Tony couldn't help but smile at your rapid shifts in mood and topic, shaking his head at the youthful energy that he could only dream of finding now at his age. He reached out and ruffled your hair with a chuckle, much to your dismay as you pulled away. "Stuff that you wouldn't understand, kiddo. But you can watch if you want to."

"Mm'kay..." You watched every movement of his hands over the pieces of machinery laid out on the table in front of him, your tongue poking from the corner of your mouth in concentration as if he were putting together a puzzle that you were trying to anticipate with him. "Hey, does that one go there?" you pointed. "Then that one goes next to it with this piece?" you asked, taking a small bolt into your hand. "It makes them work together to spin, right?"

"Holy shit," he whispered, but mumbled it away when he realized that he swore in front of you, something that he would now have to be more cognizant of. "I mean, yeah, that's right. How did you know that?"

"I see it in my head."

"Well, (Y/N), I'm impressed," Tony sighed, putting the pieces where you had told him to. The two of you sat quietly for a few minutes as he worked with your eyes fixed on every movement of his hands, and his eyes shifting to you more than towards the items in front of him. He felt his nerves building with the realization of what he had to say, and quickly decided that waiting any longer wouldn't help either of you to accept it. "Honey, your mommy and daddy aren't coming back."