Regaining Innocence (avengers au)

[6] um... hi?

The days flew past faster than vigorous flames devouring a haystack, and soon, Monday morning arrived. The kids were practically bouncing off the walls in excitement to meet new people. Clint had told them that these people were friends of their parents and had agreed to bring them out to different places for a day. Steve was to go with Sam and Bucky, Thor and Loki with Jane and Darcy, and finally Tony and Bruce with Peter and MJ. Nat and Clint had yet to know where their friends had planned to bring them, so they were almost as curious as the kids, wanting to know as many details as possible. Pietro and Wanda had agreed to swing by and help Nat and Clint tidy up the house and maybe go shopping for clothes and utensils.

At 8 AM, the kids leapt out of bed without their usual whining (except Steve, who never whined, and Tony, who whined about everything) Soon, they were seated at the table, ravenously eating up their breakfast for the day, which was honey glazed cheerios in fresh milk. Bruce was eating at his normal calm pace, but his eyes shined with happiness and he was grinning more than usual. Just as they were finishing up, Wanda and Pietro arrived, immediately setting to work and helping them wash the dishes and clean the table with the help of their extremely handy enhancements. After a whirl of red and blue ethereal glow, the kitchen was now sparkling clean, ready to meet a new bunch of visitors.

At 9:15 sharp, JARVIS' cool voice cut through the flurry of excited chatter and giggles from the kids. "Ms Romanoff, Ms Maximoff, Mr Barton, Mr Maximoff, your first visitors have arrived. Mr Sam Wilson and Mr Bucky Barnes are in the lift, coming up to the level of the children's living quarters."

"Steve, that's them. Meet your new friends, Sam and Bucky," Clint said, ushering the child to stand in front of the elevator doors. As if on cue, the lift let out a small 'ding' that was as bright as the sound of water trickling down a stream, because god forbid if Tony Stark would allow a default sound to appear in his household. The doors opened, revealing Sam and Bucky, leaning against the opposite railings, laughing at something. Once they stepped out of the lift, Steve stepped forward, and coughed awkwardly, announcing his presence. Looking down, their faces immediately broke out into wide grins, seeing their best friend reduced to a tiny toddler. "Hi, I'm Steve Rogers. Tasha said you would be going somewhere with me," Steve said, showing off his pearly white teeth. His eyes sparkled happily as Sam bent down, smiling.

"Hey, Steve, I'm Sam Wilson." The man reached out and hugged the small child to himself, smirking proudly as he felt Steve wrap his arms around him in return. The happiness didn't last for long, though, as Sam was whacked lightly on the head, thankfully not by Bucky's metal arm.

"Don't hog Steve, Sam," Bucky quipped, smirking at his scowling friend. Turning to Steve, he smiled brightly, the corners of his eyes crinkling up in joy. "Hi, Steve. I'm James Barnes, but everyone calls me Bucky. My best friend even gave my nickname a nickname, but you can make a new one just for yourself." Steve smiled brightly, wrapping his arms around Bucky's long legs. "Nice to meet you, Borky."

Standing up, Natasha walked over to Bucky, who had his hands tangled up in Steve's blonde locks, ruffling and smoothing them with a blank smile on his face. Some people might mistake the look in his eyes as disinterest, annoyance, or worse. However, Nat knew that it was a look of contentment, a small moment of belonging and relief in seeing his best friend again, no matter what form he was in. "Not everyone calls you Bucky, or did you forget about me?" she spoke up for the first time since the two men entered the building, smiling softly as Bucky looked up and smiled when he saw her.

"Talia..." Bucky scooped Steve into his arms and passed him to Sam, who spun the child around, eliciting a fit of giggles from him. The nickname was taken from Nat's former name, Natalia, but Talia was his nickname for her, a warm comfort after a long training session in the Red Room. They had established firm respect for the other, recognising the skills that they held under their belt. They'd even had a brief and bitter romance, but after Clint brought Natasha a free route to join SHIELD, they had lost contact. Seeing Bucky completely brainwashed once again, forgetting who she was didn't break her heart, but told her that they were better off as friends anyway, now that the Red Room and their Soviet Union bases were gone.