I Thought You Were Different: Part 3

Potential

Broken bones healed, bullet holes closed, and bruises faded away to nothing. Sometimes they were replaced with new ones or another bone cracked under pressure, but that mission would come to be known as one of the worst in Avengers history. Every mission that came after it was laden in an unspoken fear that the team might see worse, but as each one had come and gone and had not seen that fear realized, it quickly went back to just another day in the world-saving business.

Soon, birthdays were coming and going, despite the arguments and grumbles heard with each one, none louder than those from Tony, of course. Day after day passed and your lives went on with a very welcome lack of excitement or traumas; it wasn't something that anyone would readily say out loud as to not jinx it, but it was almost...too quiet.

It had been too quiet for so long, in fact, that the passage of time was playing a cruel joke, and soon it was time for a milestone that no one wanted less than you.

"Do you guys have everything packed?" Steve asked the trio, inspecting each of their backpacks one last time, even though he had already done so repeatedly in the last fifteen minutes. "You remember where your classes are? Do you have the lunches that your mom made?"

"Yeah, Daddy, we're ready," Brooklyn answered, pulling the straps of her bag to get it from his grip, "you've asked us all of that like fifty times."

"Can we go now?" Grant whined, stomping his way to the door. "We should have left ten minutes ago! We're gonna be late!"

"Yes, and watch the attitude, young man," Steve scolded with a sharp point at his son. "Let me just see if your grandpa is done crying so he can take you."

"I'm right here," Tony sniffled, sitting up from his spot on one of the couches of the common room, "and yes, I'm done crying. No guarantee how long it's gonna last though, so we should move out."

"Dad, it's just kindergarten," you sighed, sitting up from another couch next to him, your eyes just as red as his were, "we'll get through this. It's not like they're off to college...or anything..." you struggled choked over your words, "...yet." Your eyes refilled with tears and your breath caught in your throat, leaving you a babbling mess as you dropped back onto the cushions.

"Mom, you want my help with that?"

"No, Ant, I'm okay."

"Yep, she sounds great," your little boy whispered to Steve with a smirk. Each year that passed it had become painfully clear that Anthony was living up to his namesake in both genius level intelligence and mastery of sarcasm, much to Tony's delight. "Good luck with that, Dad."

"Thanks, kiddo."

"Gramps, what about you?"

"Maybe be on standby just in case," Tony nodded, standing up with a groan of reluctance to meet the kids at the door. "Alright, no time like the present, they say. Unless..." he smiled, turning back to Steve with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"No, Tony," he interrupted immediately, "we talked about this. We aren't home schooling them. They've been here learning from Wanda and Vision since they were one, and it's time to let them branch out and try to just be kids. We want them to get the same experiences of kids their age, and to make friends to have as normal of a childhood as they can, considering."

"He's right, Grandpa, come on," Brooklyn agreed. "Age five is an appropriate stage of development to begin social integration."

Tony laughed aloud and hung his head, resting his hands on his hips as the sound rumbled through his chest and echoed in the room around him. The audacity of the moment wasn't lost on him, but he also couldn't ignore the pride that he felt at how she had only helped to make his point. "I can see what you mean, Cap. Home schooling has clearly been a complete failure so far."