Title: The Continuing Adventures of Baby Steve
Author: catty-the-spy
Pairing: none
Rating: G
Warnings: de-aging, kinda cracky
Notes: For the cotton candy bingo prompt "return" and the people who reviewed the first asking for more.

Summary: The Avengers deal with having a baby in the tower. Thankfully, the spell is starting to wear off.

Thor looks from Steve to the diaper in his hands and back again. He frowns. "I believe I understand."

He examines the diaper Steve's already wearing one last time; then he gingerly begins to remove it, paying close attention to how it comes apart so he can properly fasten its replacement.

He has to dodge Steve's legs – Steve kicks when he plays, and at the moment a toy of Stark's has his attention. Now that he understands the workings of the diaper, following the instructions for changing it are child's play. He has Steve wiped and freshly clad in short order.

That done, he lifts Steve into his arms. "How shall we occupy ourselves?"

Steve babbles. Allspeak does not enable Thor to understand him, but it doesn't matter. Whatever activity Thor chooses will be acceptable to Steve; his small friend is content to have his undivided attention, and attention is something Thor is more than happy to provide.

With his hands grasped firmly in hers, Natasha sets Steve on his feet. He looks up at her with a dubious expression.

"Give it a shot," she says, letting him wobble back into her legs. "Look, you can kick that."

In front of them is one of Clint's arm guards. Steve had been gnawing on it earlier, and Natasha hadn't stopped him; served Clint right for leaving it lying around. "Look."

One of Steve's feet hits the guard and it moves a short distance across the floor. Thus a game is born.

They walk around the room, Steve practically screaming with joy as he wobbles on his toes. When Natasha gets tired of it she sits down and lets Steve crawl to the arm guard, triumphantly shoving it into his mouth.

"Cover it in your germs," she says, while Steve crawls back to her with his prize in his mouth. "Make Clint regret ever leaving it here."

Steve holds it out to her, suddenly realizing that he's keeping it to himself. Natasha politely takes it from him and looks it over. "That'll do. Thanks."

Later, she'll do some yoga with Steve's help, and then she'll pass him off to the next person on the baby-roster and wash the slobber off of her skin. In the mean time…

She picks up Steve and stands. "I hope you're thirsty."

"What's up?"

"New tooth," Bruce says, patting Steve's back. Steve is red-faced and panting, gnawing on a strange looking pacifier and looking generally miserable.

"I stuck it in the freezer earlier," Bruce explains when he sees Clint's mystified expression. "It makes your gums feel better, doesn't it Steve?" Bruce's tone got incredibly…mushy. "And tomorrow we'll get some more baby oragel."

Clint makes a disgusted face. "What is it about babies that makes people talk like that? It's bizarre."

"I can't help it," Bruce says, sheepish. "Anyway, what are you doing up? It's three in the morning."

"It's kinda hard to sleep through that," Clint says, pointing at Steve, who seems to be falling into a fretful sleep. "And I was thirsty, so…."

Bruce is standing next to the fridge, swaying and patting Steve's back. He looks like he's about to fall asleep on his feet. Clint has to wonder how he keeps from hulking out when Steve starts crying in the middle of the night, but he hadn't even when Steve was too tiny for teeth, so it's too late to worry now.

Clint gets a glass of water while Bruce stands there with his eyes half open. If anybody can sleep on his feet it's Dr. Banner.

"Maybe you should take this to the couch," Clint says, when Bruce's eyes slip shut.

"I think you're right. Have a good night."

Around eight, Clint heads up for breakfast. Natasha and Thor are already there, eating in silence. In the living room, Bruce and Steve are sprawled on the couch, out cold.

"They had a late night," Natasha says. "Tony took pictures."

Clint gives them another look; one of Steve's hands is fisted over Bruce's nose.

"I want those pictures."

Steve is staring intently at the prototype of his shield one the wall, but when Bruce calls his name he beams. He bounces on his feet, ignoring the holographic shapes surrounding him in favor of reaching for Bruce.

"What song is this?" he asks Tony as he lifts Steve into his arms.

"Boswell Sisters," Tony says, only half paying attention. "I figured something from his own time period might get him back to his normal geriatric self."

"Well, we might have some help with that. Odin came to check on him."

"Odin? As in the great gold wonder's dad?"

"No, Odin as in the Norse god. That Odin." Bruce blows a raspberry on Steve's stomach. "Apparently Frigga couldn't make it."

"Huh." Tony frowns. "Is he going to zap him back to normal?"

Bruce shakes his head. "I don't think so. Thor said he might speed it up a bit, but the spell needs to wear off on its own. In the mean time, say good bye to Tony." He waves Steve's hand and heads out.

Steve isn't at all intimidated by Odin. He stares. After a few moments, where Odin and Steve give each other measuring looks, Steve reaches out and touches Odin's eye patch. Odin smiles.

The meeting is relatively short. Odin holds Steve and does something, Bruce isn't exactly sure what. He casually bounces Steve on his knee while he catches up with Thor, and then he leaves.

"Is that it?" Clint says, when Odin's gone.

Thor nods holding Steve over his head and carefully tossing him. "My mother was correct in her assessment. Young Steve is progressing adequately."

"That's seriously it?"

Steve occupies himself with trying to grab Thor's nose, so Thor occupies himself with holding him just out of reach. Bruce sighs.

"It's time for him to eat."

Natasha stares at Thor as he pulls the tiny yellow spoon out of his mouth. "I can't believe you're actually eating that."

"It is a most pleasing dish," Thor says, holding the jar out to her. "I cannot believe this is a product only intended for infants."

"It's actually not that bad," Bruce says. He's the one actually feeding Steve, holding a second jar of pureed sweet potatoes. "Bland, maybe, but it's like eating sweet potato fries."

"They fry these?" Thor looks like an excited puppy. "How else can this be eaten?"

Bruce blinks and pauses with the spoon in the air. "There are lots of ways. Fried, mashed, baked…." Steve tries to take the spoon from him, but Bruce isn't paying attention. "It's like a regular potato, only it's sometimes eaten as dessert."

Natasha takes the spoon from him and gives it to Steve herself. "We bought that food for Steve. How did you even figure out what it tastes like?"

"Steve was unsure when initially presented with this sweet potato," Thor says with an easy smile. "On Lady Pepper's recommendation I tasted it myself to encourage him. As she said, when he saw that I enjoyed it, he became quite eager to eat it."

Impatient for another bite, Steve bangs on the tray of his highchair. The tray breaks.

They stare in stunned silence, even Steve, who looks startled and increasingly upset. Bruce picks him up before he can cry.

"We need to buy him a new one," Natasha says after a moment. She seems to have recovered her composure.

Thor beams. "It is as my mother predicted. The captain is beginning to return to us." He takes Steve from Bruce and rubs his back. "Do not worry, my friend. It is only your body beginning to right itself."

Tony, being Tony, made a highchair that could withstand Steve at full adult strength. After a mission with left Steve in the care of a SHIELD agent, which eventually became Fury watching Steve, which eventually became an explicit pact that no matter the mission, one Avenger stayed behind to look after Steve, they fell into a bit of a pattern. Aside from the odd megalomaniac trying to take over the world, and the occasional event that called for Natasha and Clint to periodically vanish, things were peaceful in the tower. The world was relatively safe, and Steve was getting bigger every day.