Bruised (Irondad)

12

Tony's breath hitches. What the hell is going on with these kids? What is it that he doesn't know?

In all honesty, he doesn't care, he just wants to destroy whoever it is that's scaring them into silence and talking in riddles. Whoever it is, he is going to ruin them.

On the screen, two five year olds have huddled together, intertwining limbs and heads. They seem relaxed, but it isn't difficult to spot the unbidden tension in Gianna's arms.

"Does it still burn?" Her twin asks without moving, clearly having noted her discomfort. The other responds with a small nod, keeping close to her sibling. "You can still hit me if you want to".

Gianna huffs out a laugh "Shut up Geo".

Steve Rogers, having kept silent this whole time, rubs a hand on his cheek. "You said they're athletes, right?".

Stark's eyes flicker up from the screen, "Yeah, why?".

"Why don't they come train with us this morning?".

The question is phrased so nonchalantly that if you weren't paying enough attention, you might overlook the fact that he just asked if Ironman's abused and timid kids would like to train with assassins and super humans.

"What?".

"I mean, it's just a suggestion. I know I get antsy when I haven't been training as much as usual and that might be what she means.. you could ask them, make sure they eat a good breakfast and then bring them down.. like I said it's just a suggestion".

Stark pauses, possible consequences of the scenario flipping through his brain. This could either be fine.. or disastrous. But he does need to communicate with the twins more, let them have some say in decisions-

"I'll ask them".

And that's how he ended up with the twins in the elevator. As usual, they're matching. Giovanni is wearing light gray sweats and a white t-shirt. Gianna has matching leggings a white tank top. They were hesitant to start with, but after staring at her arms for a few seconds, Gia agreed.

It certainly doesn't sit comfortably with their dad, but he abandoned them before they were born and the overwhelming guilt means that  if they want to punch something then he isn't about to argue.

As usual, they cling to each other. Their hands are glued together once again, disconnecting only momentarily so Gianna can pull her hair into a ponytail. Although they don't say anything, a silent buzz of excitement radiates from the girl. A smile battles to be seen on her lips, her eyes shining the same way that they did at the rink yesterday. It's comforting (perhaps selfishly) to Tony that he hasn't fucked up these kids completely, they still have a sense of enjoyment and excitement, and that helps to keep the guilt from consuming him entirely.

When the elevator opens, the colourful and musical atmosphere of the training room suddenly fades to a silent grey. Everybody freezes, as though the twin's presence has broken them, and all they do is stare.

Both kids shift uncomfortably, looking up at Tony with pleading eyes after just a few torturous moments. Also panicking, Stark doesn't respond, just stares straight back at the five year olds with no coherent thoughts forming in his brain.

"Hi", the casual greeting splits through the silence as though the super solider was just introducing himself to someone that wasn't Stark's long lost kid, "I'm Steve". The smiles from across the room, dumbbell in hand but frozen in position. He lowers the arm carefully, placing the weight on the floor and relaxing his body language so as to not freak the kids out too much. "I heard that you two were a little sporty and thought you might want to train with us".

When greeted with silence, Steve cocks his head to the side in an attempt to meet Gianna's eye-line.

"We won't be too intense, I promise".

A few meters away, Natasha smirks allowing Russian to fall off of her tongue "If he's feeling energetic then you can take on the Hawk guy".

And it was with that, that Gianna caved and grinned at the assassin. Everyone in the room seemed to deflate a little, letting out a collective breath that no one had dared to acknowledge before. Nobody knows how to deal with these kids. Though they won't admit it, every single one of the avengers is suddenly way out of their depth; perhaps hindered more by the fear of messing up than incapability.

Cap follows through with his promise of not being too intense, Tony watching from the corner of the room. It's becoming increasingly evident to him that star jumps are not fulfilling Gianna's desire to use her muscles; she's definitely getting 'antsy', as Steve himself described it earlier.

So as Mr America sets them off on their next round of jumping jacks, Stark decides to pull him aside.

"What's wrong?". Like everyone else, Steve is on edge. He doesn't want to overwork the kids, and this seems like the kind of stuff five year olds do, but maybe he's tiring them out already.

With a gesture of his hand, Tony responds, "Look at them".

Both heroes stare across the gym just as Gianna finishes her tenth jump and promptly sits down on the mats and watches her brother complete his.

"You think it's time to stop? Lay off a bit?".

"What?! No! I think it's time that you gave them room to show you what they can do" Stark says, not taking his eye off of the kids.

Steve seems uneasy, "I don't know, Tony, they're five.. and they're not exactly big for their age. I don't remember much from when I was that age but I know that my athletic ability wasn't extortionate".

"They aren't normal five year olds!".

Clearly unconvinced, Steve glanced at the twins again, now both on the mat together, hands locked. As much as Tony hates to admit it, they certainly don't look like the same kids that he saw flip yesterday.

"Give me a moment", he mumbles, stepping away from Cap and kneeling down in front of the twins. "Hey kiddos, having fun?".

They nod in unison, curls bobbing on top of their heads.

"I think- no I know, that you can do better than Cap's stupid star jumps, you wanna show him what you can do?".

Golden eyes meet golden eyes, unblinking for a tense moment. Then they shake their heads.

So they go back to star jumps, until-

"Sir, Miss Potts is requesting your immediate presence in conference room 6b".

Damn it, "Is it urgent?".

"It would seem so".

Stark glanced from the twins to the door, unsure as to what he's supposed to do in this situation. He doesn't want to take the twins, it would be painfully boring for them and the meeting might be confidential, but he can't just leave them...

"They'll be fine with me", somehow the red-haired assassin had managed to sneak up behind him, though it isn't the first time and he's not exactly shocked.

"I don't know Nat, I don't think I could-".

"They'll be fine with me".

The twins have made their way over by this point, standing with Natasha and looking up at Tony.

"Do you two mind?".

A small but firm shake of the head and a weak smile from Gianna is about as much as he has time for before Jarvis informs him that Pepper really needs him.

"Alright, tell Jarvis if you need anything at all and don't be afraid to give Spangles a kick to the balls if he gets too much".