"So, what? It was too dangerous
for me to fight against Iron Man
and Black Widow last year because
I was too young and it was too
dangerous, but now some alien dude
wants to destroy the planet and I'm
suddenly totally cool to fight?"
Sequel to...
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CHAPTER TWO | LITTLE JOSEPH ROGERS
__________
the first poet probably spoke to thunder / and, for a while, believed / thunder had an ear and a choice.
-stephen dunn // between angels: poems
__________
Bella had never really been a kid person. It wasn't that she didn't like kids, she had just never been around them. She wasn't used to them. However, when she had little Joseph Rogers tucked into her inexperienced arms she felt like maybe there was nothing wrong with the world. This tiny little baby was that adorable.
He had perfect little black curls sprouting from his tiny head and bright blue eyes. What surprised Bella (again, she really knew nothing about kids at all) was that Joseph was awake, alert, and smiling. He was looking all around the room, making quiet little noises. Of course, Bella knew that a baby fresh out of the womb scientifically couldn't see more than eight inches (or something like that) in front of them, she was still fascinated by how curious the little boy was.
Ashara was asleep, leaving Bella to entertain Joseph all on her own. Of course, she knew Tony was bound to be somewhere in the compound (well, she was pretty sure he was there but she hadn't seen him when she arrived — which had been disappointing considering how much she'd missed annoying him) but she didn't want to bring him into it.
"Sup, kid?" Bella asked.
The awe and magic of the situation was already leaving her. What could babies do? What could she do with a baby? Nothing. It wasn't like he was five and she could put on a TV show to entertain him for a couple hours. She just needed to hold him.
"You got any powers like your mom? How about super strength like your dad?"
Of course, Joseph offered no response. Because he's an infant.
"I have no idea what I'm doing," Bella sighed, looking into Joseph's bright eyes. "I'm not a babysitter. I'm a superhero, just like your mom and dad."
She frowned when the thought of Steve flashed across her mind. He was out in the world, evading governments and cameras with Scarlet Witch, Vision, Falcon, and Black Widow. He had no idea his wife had just given birth to their child. The thought was endlessly depressing.
"I'm gonna find your dad," Bella told Joseph, poking his nose lightly. "He's gonna love you so much, buddy."
[ ... ]
Her house was empty when she got home. Alex at some fancy party with his fancy boyfriend, Blake, in the Hamptons. Bella had only met Blake a handful of times and she hadn't been sure how she felt about him until he told her that Halloween was for children and children only. He had also said that Halloween was a fake holiday. She had decided that day that she would forever hate Blake. Only evil people hated Halloween.
