A/N: Hey! *wave* Not gonna lie, this chapter was tough. Even if it's necessary, I kind of regret the school arc. *laugh* But this story still is not dead, somehow, and these cute kids are still in action. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

Thank you to La Signora Della Grande Cielo, karina001, lala32903, Nadejdaro, Amelia Loves Anime, HeroSeekerFrost, jy4, shirayuki no scarlet, ElReyCiervo, Terra. L, dat boi Neah, InsanityOwl, DaughterofSelene103, PipeDreamPrayer, GreySimIV, ARandomAuthor14, ShadowSpears, melovecats, fan, Ryuakilover, ShadowedAuthor, teamxcution, abyssofshameanpancakeobsession, Jazebeth, OrguMiMi, Inspiration 101 O-O, LightningCat2076, Tsukiko K, 777angeloflove, Jamie, and 7 guests for reviewing! You're all wonderful and beautiful and I love you! :D

Jamie- Thank you for your message; it meant a lot to me. I wish all the best for you and your sister, and this chapter is dedicated to you two!

Title: Cosmic Composite

Author: liketolaugh

Rating: T

Pairings: Tony/Pepper, Natasha/Steve, Miranda/Marie

Genre: Family/Adventure

Warnings: AU, !spoilers for Winter Soldier onward, spoilers for Agents of SHIELD!

Summary: With the entry of metahumans into the public sphere, the fight for basic human rights has begun, and there's more than one interested party. This is the world that the exorcists are reborn into, as the newest members of the Marvel Universe and the next generation. And things are about to get much more complicated. (Eventual canon divergence. Also includes Agents of SHIELD.)

Additional information: My tumblr is liketolaugh-dgm, and on there I have a tag devoted to Cosmic Composite, including alternate POV scenes, answers to questions, and spoilers.

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned D. Gray-man, and the Avengers are but a dream that is not my own.

Lavi: 6 years old

Kanda: 6 years old

Lenalee: 4 years old

Allen: 3 years old

September 2016

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, little buddy," Tony said, arms around Lavi for a few moments longer than usual.

"Remember everything so you can tell us all about it," Pepper said, thumb rubbing across Lavi's cheek and a smile on her face like she was worried Lavi would forget about her if he left too long.

Bucky didn't say anything at first, but finally he settled on, "Take care," and Yuu nodded as if that made more sense than anything else he could have said, so Lavi decided it was a 'them' thing. (They had a lot of 'them' things.)

It was Rhodey who had offered to take them to school, on the grounds that he was one of the least conspicuous. Lavi thought that that wouldn't last all that long, but he kept that to himself.

"You two ready for this?" Rhodey asked, helping Yuu buckle himself in despite the boy's scowl. The other adults had left only reluctantly, mostly because Pepper had pointed out that they were going to be- not late, but not as early as they were meant to be. Both of them made dubious, noncommittal sounds, and Rhodey snorted. "Can't say I blame you. Don't worry, you'll settle in."

Yuu kicked the seat, a stormcloud starting to settle around his shoulders. "Then why'd you ask," he muttered.

"Hey," Rhodey said sharply, and Yuu stilled. Rhodey sighed, turning his head to meet his eyes. "There you go. Look, I know it's gonna be tough. But you can handle it, right? You're tough too."

Yuu softened at that and bobbed his head a little, reluctantly. Rhodey gave him a nod and a quick smile in return, and then closed the door and climbed into the front seat, buckled up, and started the car in silence. Only once they were moving did he call back,

"You've been awful quiet, Lavi. You asleep back there?"

Yuu grunted. "Yeah. He didn't sleep much last night."

Rhodey tutted sympathetically. "Today's gonna be especially rough for him then. Look after him, won't ya, Yuu?"

Yuu huffed. "Duh."

"That's the spirit," Rhodey said, amused.

The Avengers compound and SHIELD headquarters being in a relatively isolated area, it took half an hour to get to the elementary school Lavi and Yuu would be attending. Yuu just watched the scenery pass by, frowning a little at the distance, which seemed much too large.

When they arrived, they were just one in a long line of cars; as Yuu watched, a bus passed them by to park further along the curb. Rhodey parked, too, and Yuu reached over to flick Lavi.

"Wake up, rabbit," he said unenthusiastically, watching Lavi stir and then blink open sleepy green eyes. "We're here."

"Mmnmn?" Lavi said, and then, slightly more coherently, "oh," and reached for his buckle.

Yuu hummed and was still fumbling with his when Rhodey opened the door and did it for him.

"I can do it," he said defensively, scowling at him.

"Sure," Rhodey agreed, slightly amused. On the other side, Lavi hopped out by himself, swinging his backpack over his shoulder, and Yuu scowled harder. "But we're on a pretty strict time limit, so not today."

Yuu grumbled, but when Rhodey stepped back, he reached for his own backpack and hopped out without further complaint. Then he crossed around the back of the car, grabbed Lavi's hand, and gave Rhodey an expectant look.

"I'm not gonna fall behind," Lavi protested, rubbing one eye sleepily.

"Whatever, rabbit," Yuu dismissed. Rhodey reached for Yuu's other hand and Yuu took it with a roll of his eyes and nothing more.

It took ten more minutes, a wrong turn, and a circuitous route, but eventually they found the right classroom. Yuu eyed the brightly colored walls doubtfully while Rhodey released them and gestured to the cubbies, then headed to the teacher, a white woman with red hair who appeared tall but who was probably actually rather short.

Yuu nudged Lavi roughly. "Wake up, we're here."

"I am awake," Lavi argued, bumping him back, and they started to search for their names on the cubbies.

"Oh!" said the teacher. "You're-"

"Colonel James Rhodes," Rhodey agreed with a polite smile, holding out his hand, which she shook. "Mrs. Lorelei, right?"

Mrs. Lorelei cleared her throat, looking flushed but otherwise professional. "Yes, that's right. And these are Lavi and Yuu?" She offered the two of them a kind smile as they approached, now sans backpacks, and Yuu answered with a scowl.

"Good, everybody knows everybody," Rhodey said, and then, more seriously, "Yuu isn't great with people and he's a little irritable. He won't hit anybody but he might yell. Lavi can usually keep him in line, but he's pretty tired today so I wouldn't count on it."

"I can handle irritable children, Colonel," Mrs. Lorelei assured him, looking a little more relaxed. Rhodey gave her a short nod.

"We'll have an Avenger or two around the block, just in case, but we don't expect anything to happen," he continued in a lower tone, though no one else was there. "Don't be worried if you see 'em."

Mrs. Lorelei's expression turned a little more solemn, and just a touch unsure. "I understand," she promised. "And I'll look after your kids, of course."

Rhodey gave her a brief smile, and then crouched down to speak to Lavi and Yuu.

"Be good, you two," he said. "Try not to upset Mrs. Lorelei too much, hm?"

"Che," Yuu said, and Lavi laughed. Rhodey grinned.

"School ends at four, remember," he added. "Now, I gotta go check the office has pickup protocol right, but I'll see you two later today."

"Bye, Rhodey," Lavi said, with a touch of theatrical mournfulness, and Rhodey ruffled his hair and then stood up, while Yuu waved vaguely.

When they turned back, Mrs. Lorelei was smiling again.

"You two are the first ones here, so you can pick any seat," she told them encouragingly. And then, softer, "I know you haven't spent much time around other children, but we'll all be doing our best to make sure everyone meets new friends."

Yuu stuck his tongue out at her and turned away, dragging Lavi to a corner table and firmly ignoring the teacher's laugh.

"What were you even doing last night, stupid rabbit?" he muttered once they'd both sat down.

Lavi hesitated. "Promise not to tell?"

Yuu glanced at him sharply, then nodded.

Lavi put his head on the table. "I'm trying to learn to hack. Like Dad does. FRIDAY's helping me."

Yuu blinked, and then hissed, "Can't you just ask Tony and do it during the day?"

"I don't want him to know," Lavi said petulantly, apparently forgetting how well that had gone for them last time. "I want-" He stopped abruptly and swung up an arm to hide his face in.

Yuu blinked again, and then, slowly, understood. He stared at Lavi, dumbfounded.

"You dummy," he said with feeling, but was prevented from saying more by the arrival of another family.

That family heralded the arrival of another, and then another, until they were flooding in, introducing their kids to the teacher and giving their tearful goodbyes. Yuu scowled, but couldn't honestly say that he would have known what to say anyway, and especially couldn't now that he was surrounded by an unnerving number of people.

"That's King!" said Lavi, his head in the crook of his elbow, but grinning and pointing to a little black boy in overalls.

The boy, apparently hearing his name, twisted to look over and then grinned. "Lavi!" he called, loud enough to make Yuu wince, though Lavi grinned back even as King bounced over.

Yuu tuned out his chatter and Lavi's hums, looking around. His eyes caught on the short girl from before, the one he'd helped at the store, sitting quietly at a table not far away, watching them with wide brown eyes.

Yuu stared back for a few moments, frowning slightly, and then broke it just as King bounced away, and Lavi huffed out a laugh.

"So," Lavi said. "School."

"Che."

Yuu kept a watchful eye on the clock as the day crept by – eight o'clock, nine o'clock, ten o'clock.

None of the activities interested him; they were too simple or too easy or too rooted in the words and lives of strangers, and he felt itchy and restless in his skin.

(Lavi wanted to help him find Alma. Lavi was staying up late and learning a skill, just to-)

He and Lavi stuck close to each other throughout the morning, did whatever they could together instead of with others, and within a few hours some of the other kids were already steering clear of them (though King and his new best friend, Teresa, never got the hint.)

Yuu was surprised at Lavi, actually – as long as Yuu had known him, Lavi had been a giant chatterbox even when exhausted and half-asleep. But the most even King and Teresa were getting was an unsure smile and a few hesitant, unencouraging replies that they quickly grew bored with.

(Yuu wasn't even offering that much. The few times he was approached, he'd just ignored them, unsure of what to say and uninterested in trying. That was probably why they were being avoided.)

Mrs. Lorelei was giving the two of them increasingly concerned looks as time went on, until Yuu started sticking out his tongue bitterly every time she glanced their way, hunched defensively over his cute worksheet.

Finally, lunchtime arrived, and Yuu practically had to tug Lavi through the line, with a liberal sprinkling of scowls and complaints. The walls were a brightly painted forest, filled with colorful animals that matched the chatter of the children in the cafeteria.

They settled in a corner again, and Lavi finally woke up a little to eat his lunch. Yuu eyed him, frowning. He was- really out of it.

"H-hi, can I… s-sit here?"

"Do whatever," Yuu snapped harshly without thinking, eyes narrowing into a hot glare as he glanced at the speaker.

The girl – Elena, he recalled vaguely, the little one who'd been watching them – squeaked, hopping back a little before whipping around, braid flying, and disappearing down the row.

"Harsh, Yuu," Lavi reprimanded, stifling a yawn. "She's still just tiny."

"Whatever," Yuu muttered, hunching over and picking up his fork. He stabbed it into his mac'n'cheese and took a bite. "Sleep more tonight."

Lavi laughed. "Okay, Yuu." He bit into his pizza. "Today's been kinda boring, huh?"

Lavi's voice was falsely lighthearted. Yuu shrugged. "Noise said it would be," he muttered.

"Mmhm," Lavi hummed, and then, "The stuff's pretty easy so far. I mean, I guess it makes sense, but-"

"It'd be easier if I could focus," Yuu bit out, hunching over farther. "It's so- it sucks." He knocked his fork into the side of the bowl, making it spill a little, and scowled harder. "And I'm- clumsy."

Lavi sat up a little, and then leaned over to bump Yuu's shoulder. Yuu bumped back, much harder, and Lavi laughed and rubbed it.

"Don't worry about it," he said, a little more cheerful. "It's just a part of being a kid."

"I hate it," Yuu snapped.

"It's not fun," Lavi acknowledged ruefully. "It'll pass though."

"It better," Yuu muttered, taking a vicious bite of his food. (He was so tired of being a kid.)

When they finished, they went to recess, funneling out the door as directed. The playground outside had a swingset, a jungle gym, and three large play structures, all of with were swarming with screaming, laughing kids, mostly bigger than them.

It was jarring, and Yuu felt abruptly, violently out of place, so much so that he nearly took a step back. (He missed Bucky and Allen and Lenalee, and that too was a strange and distant feeling.)

Lavi and Yuu started to share an uncertain look, but Yuu's eye caught on something across the street, and he lifted his head to look, eyes widening and lips parting in surprise. Without realizing it, he relaxed a little and rolled his eyes.

Across the street, Steve waved, and then made a shooing gesture toward the playground, supposedly encouraging. Yuu snorted, and then ducked his head and looked at Lavi.

"Come on, rabbit," he said wryly, starting toward the swingset. "Let's go."

"I bet I can swing higher than you," Lavi said brightly, waving at Steve and then hurrying on ahead.

"Not half-asleep, you can't," Yuu retorted, and then hopped on just ahead of Lavi and kicked off.

As he rose, he caught sight of Steve, turning away with a smile and talking on the phone.

Yuu huffed. Couldn't stop fretting for one day.

"Whee!" Lavi yelled, loud enough to carry.

At four o'clock, the two of them had to wait in the office to be checked out. It only took a few minutes for Scott to arrive, though, and Yuu sat up a little as he came into sight, impatient and more than ready to just be done.

"Yuu!" Lenalee called cheerfully, waving from over by Scott's legs and startling him. Her little flats clacked against the linoleum loudly, red anklets standing out against her skin. "How was your first day?"

On Scott's other side, Allen was grinning cheekily, waving with his free hand. Yuu almost laughed.

"Hm," he said instead, and elbowed Lavi sharply in the ribs.

Scott gave them a smile and a nod before going to talk to the school secretary, and at Yuu's jab, Lavi yelped and sat up and grinned at Allen and Lenalee.

"Allen! Lena! It's been almost a whole day!" Lavi cried, hopping off the chair and over to hug Allen, pretending to cry, while Allen laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

"It's been eight hours," Yuu deadpanned, but he glanced over both Allen and Lenalee, brow furrowed, until he was satisfied and continued, "Lavi kept falling asleep."

Lenalee gave Lavi an exasperated look. "What're you doing now?" she asked.

Lavi finally gave in to Allen's pointed shoving and straightened, winking at her with a 'shush' gesture, and she rolled her eyes.

Scott finished signing them out and returned, looking down at them with wry amusement.

"Let's go, you little gremlins," he said easily. "Before your parents come to get you themselves."

"Mom wouldn't let them," Lavi said with confidence, even as they started heading to the car.

"Let's not test that, yeah?" Scott retorted, and Lavi made a noise of agreement. Scott opened the door and gestured, and they piled in, all four of them squished in the back. "How did it go?"

Yuu grunted, Lavi hummed disappointedly, and Allen and Lenalee laughed, because neither of them really cared apparently.

"That great, huh?" Scott sympathized, because he was nice. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Yuu doubted it. "School is hard on the best of us, at first. Cassie loves it, though – but I, uh." Scott coughed awkwardly. "Actually missed her first day." Pause, and then he cleared his throat and changed the subject abruptly. "Lenalee put stickers on the ceiling, by the way."

"FRIDAY loves 'em," Allen added cheerfully, catching Yuu's eye to offer a bright, reassuring smile.

"Tony hates it," Lenalee added, with just as much relish, and Lavi laughed. "But Wanda won't help take them down, and neither will Vision."

"Vision says it's FRIDAY's choice," Allen put in.

"I think he's just messing with Tony though," Scott offered from the front, and Yuu started to relax again in this more familiar and comfortable environment.

"Hm," Lavi said, and fell asleep on top of Allen. Allen yelped, flailing a little and casting Yuu a pleading look as Lavi crushed him under his weight.

"Stupid rabbit," Yuu muttered, and pulled Lavi over so he was leaning on him instead. He felt Lavi convulse with a tiny, restrained laugh, and rolled his eyes harder.

"I hope he gets more sleep before tomorrow," Scott added with clear concern, and Yuu nearly groaned.

Tomorrow.

Done and done! I'm thinking of rolling this arc and the next one together a lil, just to speed things up, but we'll see. *bounce* I hope this chapter wasn't too boring for y'all (these kids weren't having a real good time of it) and I'll see you all around! Thank you very much for reading, and please review!