strings of destiny → age of ultron

[2]

"Find anything on Sokovia?"

Maria Hill entered her sister's office, crossing her arms and leaning on the doorframe.

"Not much, but I'm still looking. It's pretty obscure. Heard anything from your boss-man?" Blossom spun around in her wheely-chair a few times before looking at her sister.

"Tony hasn't said a word. And y'know, for a thirty-three year old, you're pretty childish," Maria pointed out, and her sister rolled her eyes.

"You still love me though. How are the girls and Daniel doing?" Blossom stood from her seat and grabbed a small stack of papers to take with her as the two women left the office.

"They're doing fine. And your daughter is a sound sleep. I'm surprised."

"She's just like me. Steve gets up at the crack of dawn, and then tries to wake me up."

"Don't poke the sleeping bear, right?"

"Exactly."

The two made it to the end of the hall when Victoria began to cry. Blossom handed her sister the papers she was holding before rushing off to her room to ease her cries. She lifted her daughter from her crib and began to rock her, but the crying didn't stop.

"JARVIS?" Blossom asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yes Mrs. Rogers?" the AI system asked. Still, Blossom got the butterfly feeling in her stomach when she heard 'Mrs. Rogers'.

"Do you still have that recording of Steve singing that lullaby to Vicky?" she asked, still trying to calm her daughter down. She figured it was because Steve wasn't home, and Victoria was such a daddy's girl.

"I do Mrs. Rogers. Shall I play it?" JARVIS asked.

"Yes please," Blossom said, and instantly, the recording started to play. Slowly, Victoria began to calm down once she heard her father's voice coming from the ceiling, and she reached up.

"Dada?" she babbled, and Blossom rocked her gently.

"Yes sweetie, Dada. Dada will be home soon, I promise," Blossom whispered, and her daughter glanced up at her, ready to cry again. She opened her mouth, but closed it as the recording started again. Soon, Victoria calmed down and reached down for the little Cap plushie Tony had gotten for her for when Steve was away. Blossom took it and handed it to her daughter, who hugged it close.

"Dada," she mumbled, drifting back off to sleep. She was set back into her crib, and Blossom let out a sigh of relief. She tip-toed from the room and shut the door gently, then went off to find her sister. She found Maria pacing in the hall, a Stark Industries tablet in her hands.

"They're on their way back. They've found the scepter in Strucker's lab, along with two enhanced." Maria didn't look up from her screen, and Blossom sighed in relief, but then tensed.

"Nothing's that easy, and I'm not an easy skeptic. Something isn't right," Blossom said softly, and she shared a look with Maria as Zoza stepped out of her room.

"Hey, I heard talkin'. What's going on?" she asked, and both women turned to her.

"For now, everything has been a success and the team is coming home." The women noted how Zoza visibly relaxed.

"You've been worried, haven't you?" Blossom asked, and Zoza nodded slowly.

"Well, yeah... I mean, Uncle Tony and Aunt Pepper are the only family I have left. And since Aunt Pepper is off doing something that involves the company, I've gotta take her place as the main worrier when it comes to Uncle Tony," she said softly, and Blossom smiled down at her.