I Thought You Were Different: Part 5

Regroup (FINALE)

"Uncle Steve, how much longer is it gonna be?"

"They'll let us know when they let us know, Nik. Just like I told you five minutes ago."

"Well, duh," the boy snickered, "thanks, Captain Obvious."

"Hey," Steve retorted, finally looking over the outdated magazine that he had read at least a dozen times, "let's watch that attitude, alright? I know you're a Barton, but come on, you've gotta lock that down."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I know that we're all tired, and it's hard to wait, but we're all in the same boat that you are, kiddo." Steve returned to his reading, holding the magazine in one hand while the other gently patted Nik's back as he continued to lay flopped over his legs in exasperation. They had been waiting at the hospital for so many hours that even he had lost count, but the last time that he had been brave enough to ask for an update, he got nothing but a glare of warning until he turned and ran back to the safety of the lobby.

"Uncle Steve?"

"Yeah, Nik?"

"Are you excited?"

Steve paused and closed the magazine, tossing it aside with a heavy hand onto the small table next to his chair. His lips parted to answer, but he stopped with a furrowed brow and a wandering mind; his senses came to life with a barrage of familiar sounds and sights, the scent of sterile antiseptics and bad coffee suddenly obvious to him now in a whole new way. "This seems really familiar," he mumbled, looking around at the group that was with him, "I'm getting the worst case of déjà vu right now."

"What's dayshaa vooo?"

"I feel like I've done this before," he laughed softly, sitting up to push the small boy from his legs so that he could stand. The team had come back together for the event, to help welcome the newest member of the family, even as fractured as it was. Tony was on the far side of the room with Pete and Scott, contemplating if the lounge coffee was actually good enough to drink or not; a cough and a spit into a nearby garbage gave them a quick answer. Steve made his way over to their group with Nik in tow, wondering if they were feeling the same sense of repeat that he was. It hadn't really been that long since their altercation with Thanos and the resurrection that changed them forever, so it wouldn't be out of the question for all of them to be feeling something similar.

"Hey, Cap, what can we do for ya?" Scott began, offering a quickly declined cup of coffee.

"Thanks, Scott, but no thanks. I have a question for you fellas, though."

"What's up?" Tony joined in, but he appeared to be only partially listening as he typed on his phone. "Actually, before you start, who wants in on the coffee order? No way I'm drinking this sludge anymore, and Banner offered to pick up on the way here."

A long round of orders were called out from the small group and everyone else who had congregated in the small waiting room, but Tony kept up with each of them, successfully and efficiently getting it all done like he had been itching for anything that felt like work to be done. If Steve hadn't known better, he would say that Tony was bored with his new life in Malibu and so far from the action that used to consume him. If he were being honest with himself, Steve would have recognized that he felt exactly the same.

"Bruce is on the way?" Peter asked with a wide smile. "Great! I have a few modifications that I've been making to my web fluid and I could use his opinion."

"I have an opinion too," Tony huffed, clearly offended. "God knows that I have enough time."

"And I still have my question."