AN: Hey everyone. If you've been reading my other story, "Phil Coulson and Pepper Potts are Supernannies", don't worry! I'll update soon, I promise. This is a little story I wrote really quickly today. I hope you guys like it. I have a bunch of characters in this one, and it's kind of hard to keep track of them all. Sorry if it's disjointed.


It had been ten years since the Avengers Initiative was officially shelved. The six had been incredibly busy, and they had not stayed in touch beyond the occasional email. Pepper convinced Tony to have them all come for a week at the Malibu beach house. She'd marketed the idea as if it were a party, because she knew Tony couldn't say no to a party. One by one, their friends began arriving.

Bruce was the first to arrive. With him was his wife Betty. Betty was seven months pregnant. They had gotten married about a year after the Avengers went their separate ways. After Bruce, Natasha was next to arrive. She was alone. She and Pepper had stayed in touch for the most part, but she was surprised to see the assassin arrive alone. As of the last time they spoke, she had a pretty serious boyfriend.

Clint arrived next, with his wife and two children, Jackson and Aaron. Pepper had known he'd gotten married, but the kids were a surprise to her. Clint had been the most difficult to stay in touch with. After Clint's family arrived, Steve Rogers came in with his girlfriend. Pepper didn't know her name, but she seemed very sweet, which was perfect for Captain America.

Thor was the last to arrive. He and Jane had come from Asgard, with two blond children in tow. Tony and Pepper had also had a child in the ten years everything changed. Natasha went to freshen up in one of the many guestrooms, and Pepper took that time to talk to Clint. She didn't know if there were any hard feelings between the two assassins, but they had been avoiding each other since arrival.

"Hi, Clint. It's so good to see you!" Pepper said, beaming. Clint had been talking animatedly with his oldest boy when she walked up.

"Pepper! How have you been?" Clint asked, standing up. When he stood, his son looked at her curiously.

"I've been well," she answered. She knelt down in front of Clint's son. "What's you're name?" she asked. Clint bit his lip slightly, looking down at his son. The boy looked up at his dad.

"Tell her your name," he coaxed.

"Jackson," he mumbled almost inaudibly. Pepper glanced at Clint, and he mouthed a clarification.

"It's nice to meet you, Jackson. I have to go find some people, but I'll talk to you later, okay?" Jackson had yet to make eye contact.

"Okay, say bye," Clint instructed.

"Say bye," Jackson said, looking past Pepper.

"Good job, bud," Clint said. "Sometimes he's shy. Especially in new places. He should warm up to you by then end of the week," he said to Pepper.

"Well, make yourselves at home. If you need anything, just ask," she said, smiling. Pepper went around showing everyone to their rooms. There was no shortage of rooms here, and Pepper had ordered enough beds for everyone. That was one benefit of being married to a billionaire.

The kids were all in bed by nine that night, even Thor and Jane's rambunctious kids, and the adults were sitting around on the deck. "So, the reason I've gathered you all together is," Tony said. "Yeah. I got nothing. Pepper just missed everyone."

"And we all missed Pepper, too," Bruce quipped. At that moment, Bobbi came outside from where she had been checking on her boys. She crouched down by where Clint was sitting.

She started to ask Clint something when she realized she was being watched. "Sorry if I'm interrupting anything," she addressed the group, blushing. The group reassured her and she turned back to her husband. "I know we went over the checklist a hundred times, but I think we forgot the 'O's."

"Did we really? Crap. I'll go find a 24 hr. market," Clint said, standing up. Everyone else was watching curiously. Bobbi nodded and handed Clint his cell phone.

"If you can't find the 'O's, get Life," she added as he walked away. He nodded his agreement and then was gone.

When he was gone, Bobbi sat down in his spot. "Sorry, just a little crisis," she said, chuckling.

Tony was curious as to what 'O's were, and why finding them was such a big deal. Being Tony, he asked directly

"What are these 'O's you speak of?" he asked.

"Cereal for Jackson. He's very particular, and I really don't want him to have a meltdown if we can prevent one," she explained. In her head, it clearly wasn't an odd statement.

"We have lot's of cereal. I'm sure we have one he'd like," Pepper offered. "What kind does he like?"

"They're organic, gluten-free frosted cherrio type things. If you have those, I'd be very impressed," Bobbi answered.

"We don't actually have anything that's gluten-free. I'm sorry. If I'd known you needed gluten-free stuff, we could have stocked the pantry," Pepper said.

"He doesn't have to eat gluten-free, we just like to have Jackson avoid gluten and some other things because there is research that say it can improve social interaction and other behaviors in children with autism." She bit her lip. "I didn't mean to tell you guys like that," she laughed nervously. "Don't tell Clint." She smiled, but her eyes were anxious. She never knew how people would react.

Bruce broke the awkward silence. "I read an article on that. Have you guys noticed a difference?" he asked.

"He talks more than he used to, which is nice," she answered.

"That's good. I overheard him talking with Clint. He's very animated," Bruce said, smiling.

"Yeah. He is great with us, but not so much with people he doesn't know as well. Even with my parents he's almost silent," she continued. While Bruce and Bobbi were having this conversation, the rest of the group was silent. Just like usual, no one knew what to say.

Thor was confused. "What is autism?" he asked. Jane put her hand on his knee.

"I guess you probably don't have autism in Asgard. Autism is a disorder that can cause kids to have trouble communicating and being social. Did I explain it well enough?" she asked. She didn't know how to explain it to him in a way that would translate.

Thor nodded, but looked unsure.

"There's a lot more to it than that. If you have any questions, or I guess if any of you have questions, just ask," Bobbi offered.

They all turned when they heard the door open. Coming out the door was a girl with strawberry blonde hair. "Hi, honey," Pepper said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm not tired," she answered. Pepper motioned for her to come and sit with her.

"This is Sophie," Pepper said. Sophie had been hiding out in her room since people started arriving. She'd come out now and again, but for the most part was remaining aloof.

"Hey, daddy?" she asked looking at Tony. Tony raised his eyebrows at her. "Can you tuck me in again?"

"Yep. Go on in. I'll be in there in a minute," he answered. For a seven year old, she seemed very mature. Sophie nodded and went back inside, just as Clint was coming back outside.

"Crisis averted," he stated. Bobbi stood and went inside, motioning for him to follow.

"So, I mentioned to everyone that Jackson has autism. It kind of slipped out. I'm sorry if you hadn't meant for them to know," she said, smiling a little guiltily.

"No, that's good, I guess. They would have noticed anyways," he said, nodding. As if on cue, Jackson came wandering out into the kitchen. "Hey, Jackson. Are you okay?"

Jackson stared at Clint's feet and walked up to him. "Water," he whispered in a high-pitched tone.

"Say 'I want water, please'," Bobbi instructed. "In Jackson's real voice."

"Oh. I want water, please," he complied. She and Clint had been working on getting him to communicate with more than single words and gestures, and to also speak confidently in his normal voice. He had a voice he slipped into when he was not comfortable in a situation.

Clint got a glass and went to the sink. He ran the water and adjusted the temperature several times. When it was at a satisfactory temperature, he filled the glass half way and handed it to Jackson. "Is the temperature okay?"

Jackson put the side of the glass on his cheek and nodded. After finishing the water, he grabbed Bobbi's sleeve and tugged her in the direction of the guest room where they were staying. For a guest room, it was more of a suite than anything else. There was a king-size bed for Clint and Bobbi, and a queen size bed that Jackson and Aaron were to share.

Clint wandered back out onto the patio.

Tony looked over at him, excitedly. "Okay, buddy. I need your help here. I'm trying to convince these people that Fury would feel left out if I didn't invite him over tomorrow. They seem to think he has more important things to do, but I bet he'd love to catch up with all of his favorite people."

"Yeah, I really don't think he'd come," Clint answered, sitting next to Natasha. Clint hadn't worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. for several years. He had found a less dangerous job after Jackson had been born. "But by all means, you should definitely invite him."

Natasha laughed. She was the only one who was still with S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time. "You do know he doesn't like you very much, right Tony?" she asked. Tony pretended to be hurt by the comment.

"I think I'm going to head into bed. I'll see you guys in the morning," Pepper said, getting up.

"I'll walk you in, my dear," Tony said. As they walked away, Tony patted Pepper's butt. She shoved him playfully.

One by one, they all went to their respective rooms. The beach house was nothing short of extravagant. When Clint arrived at their rooms, he saw that Aaron, Jackson, and Bobbi were all awake. He went and joined the three of them on his and Bobbi's bed. "It's past your bedtimes. All three of you," he said, pulling Aaron onto his lap.

Aaron was dozing off, and Clint picked him up and carried him to the adjoining room and set him on the bed. After tucking him in, he returned to find Jackson snuggled up on Clint's side of the bed. Bobbi looked at him and smiled. "He doesn't want to sleep in there. I'll stay here with Jackson, and you can share the bed with Aaron," she said.

"Aaron kicks in his sleep," Clint complained. Bobbi threw him his pillow and he went into the other room. "Goodnight, hon," he called, quietly.

"Night. I love you," she called back.

"Love you, too."


Let me know what you thought. I hope it came across okay.