(A/N: Hey guys, back again with more story. There aren't any new warnings to let you know about and this continues along the same themes as previous chapters so I don't think I need to tell you what to expect. Anyway, on with the show!)

Hands in Mine 2

Part 6

This time it had been Natasha that was required to stay behind on guard duty, they'd needed Loki's powers to deal with the incident so she was in charge of protecting the children, Tony, and Steve. The kids absolutely loved her so it hadn't been too hard to convince them to quietly play video games or Lego while she took care of her two teammates. Of all people it was Loki that had needed convincing that Tony could be left without his care, he trusted her without question when it came to the children, but Tony remained fragile. He had only recently gotten to a point where he was no longer having daily panic attacks and his sleep was finally beginning to resemble something healthy.

Loki worried like a mother hen. But Natasha understood it and she had sworn that she would call him if Tony entered a state that she could not alleviate on her own. So far it was going well, Tony lie beside Steve on the pullout couch, head tucked against the other man's hip, a book open on a holo-screen in his hand. He was teaching himself everything there was to know about some new field of mechanics, which was a departure from the last several months of languishing depression that he had suffered. There'd be no point in asking him about it until he had read everything that there was to know, he refused to expound on a subject unless he knew every scrap of information available.

For the span of a few second Tony's expression changed to something like discomfort and he shifted his weight off of his hip. The problem seemed fixed as he contentedly resumed reading. But a few minutes later he groaned and his free hand came down to cradle his stomach, rubbing at it gently.

"You alright Tony?" Steve's voice was low but it carried to where Natasha sat stretched out on the closest chair. She waited for Tony to respond, not wanting to rush for an answer and provoke a panic attack. But Tony only smiled and tugged one of Steve's hands down to rest against the lower curve of his stomach. He motioned quietly for Natasha to come over and she hardly missed a second before she was on the couch beside him, her head tucked to her shoulder as she lightly cradled his stomach.

"She's active today. I think she likes the subject matter," Tony said and there was a smile there that Natasha didn't even need to see, she could hear it in his voice. She allowed her eyes to slide closed and just breathed, letting herself feel the movement beneath her palm. No matter how often she felt either of the babies move, it always grounded her, made everything feel so much more real. She longed for the day when it would be her that got to call people over to feel what Tony was feeling now, but she was also content to share in the experience of the others. After all, she and Clint still needed to get married, not that either of them were terribly traditionalist, but she liked to pretend.

"Given who she has as parents I wouldn't be surprised if she came out knowing more than the two of you combined about physics and engineering," Natasha joked softly, letting out a breath and pressing her face into Tony's neck. He chuckled and wiggled until his arm was wrapped around her shoulders, letting her rest fully against him. Tony was always happier sandwiched between people, he loved to cuddle almost more than any of them, which was saying something as he'd been extremely touch-adverse for a long time.

"She might, but I'm not going to put any pressure on her. She can do whatever she likes and I'll just be glad that she's mine," Tony said quietly, his voice was without bitterness, but Natasha and Steve both knew it for the commentary on his childhood that it was.

"I know you will Tony," Steve assured and Natasha smiled the environment that she found herself in, with so many people that loved and supported each other, it was like nothing she had ever expected to know. Contented by the tenderness of the moment she allowed herself to drift, close to sleep but not quite there. It wasn't until the kids piled in around them, curling up over legs and hips that she allowed herself to give in to sleeping. This was something that she had gotten used to, and she reveled in it, letting her body soak up every inch of the affection that it had once been denied.

Asleep it felt like hours had passed and yet no time at all, normally she remained more aware of her surroundings when she slept, but it was difficult when she was surrounded by so much comfort. Thankfully her guard was not needed and the sound that she woke to was the other Avengers returning from their mission, sweaty and bruised, but victorious. She smiled at them, and shushed them gently, wondering when Sleipnir had wormed his way in between Tony and Steve. The white-haired boy had probably wanted to converse with his siblings, not that she blamed him; most of them couldn't wait to meet them the way that only he truly could.

Glancing down, she determined that it was Hela that had a vice grip around her ribs and that there was no way that she was moving without disturbing at least three of the six children. Loki smiled indulgently and leaned down to begin the process of freeing her from the tangle of Jormungandr's limbs, the boy had a way of twining himself around whoever it was that he slept beside, sometimes tightly enough to put limbs to sleep. But the child moved without protest until she was able to lift her leg and allow him to roll into Fenrir's side. Automatically black and silver hair clashed as the boys wrapped around one another, leaving her with only Hela to worry about disturbing.

But Loki was already on that, gently maneuvering his daughter's clinging arms open long enough for Natasha to slip free. Hela needed little prompting to fill in the space that had been left behind and wrapped her arms around Tony without so much as waking. Limaine and Latharne were cuddled on Steve's lap and since the man slumbered on there was no reason to disturb him. Tony stirred only long enough to mutter a welcome home to his friends and family.

They all moved to the kitchen so as not to disturb the sleeping pile in the living room. Natasha was content to take a seat at the bar while her companions raided the fridges and cabinets for much needed food to restore their energy. Hunger wasn't really on her radar at the moment, she was still working on waking up. She smiled widely when Logan placed a mug of coffee near her hands and accepted the shoulder nudge that he granted her as some means of saying thanks for watching over one of his partners. Though he was getting better at communicating his feelings, he still preferred to say things with gestures rather than words and she at the very least was content with that, given that she wasn't all that good with emotions herself.

"How was Tony?" Bruce asked, clearly beating Loki to the punch on the question. She understood that they both worried about him, but sometimes it seemed like a competition as to who worried more.

"He was great. Spent his time awake reading up on some stuff about bio-mechanics or something like it, and then the baby started to wiggle and he couldn't have been happier. I think he might be out of the woods when it comes to whatever hormones were playing havoc with his emotions," Natasha said gently and she noted that Bruce, Loki, and Thor all seemed to sag with visible relief. It probably wasn't wise to be leaving Tony alone any time soon, but not at least it seemed that they only had the underlying illness to deal with, not one ramped up to a thousand by pregnancy.

"That's really great to hear. Hopefully he'll sleep for a bit longer, he's got a lot of catching up to do in that department," Bruce said and sat himself down with what had to be the most over stuffed sandwich that he could have made without it toppling over. Sometimes she wondered how they afforded all the food that they needed to eat.

(A/N: Well that's all for now. Let me know what you think in a comment or a review. I know it's awful of me to beg, but seriously hearing from you guys keeps me motivated when motivation is one of the hardest things for me to find. So I would love some feedback. Anyway, I'll see you next time.)