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Five things the avengers (besides his fathers) taught little Charlie Stark and one thing he taught them (about his fathers)

#1

"No, no, hang on kiddo, you're holding it wrong, you're gonna take someones eye out like that."

Charlie sighed as Clint corrected his hold on the practice bow again. They had been at it for hours, Clint trying to teach him how to shoot, but he was so hopeless at it! They'd tried guns, arrows, darts, and he never once hit the target, not once. The only weapon he showed any prowess with whatsoever was the throwing knives, like his father, but Clint insisted he needed practice on other mediums of long-distance attack. He was the son of two of the Avengers, after all.

Clint stepped back, standing behind and to the left of the little boy, so as not to disrupt his drawing back of the arrow. The kid wasn't as hopeless as he seemed to think, he was only young, and today they were practicing firing in rapid succession. Clint corrected his hold and aim when he got it wrong, but when he let go, it all seemed to fall apart. Now he stood behind him, encouraging him with soft words to use his senses appropriately.

"Close your eyes, little Stark. Feel the arrow in your hands, listen to the room around you. Picture the target in your mind before you look at it, that's it. Now open your eyes and give it all you got."

Bright green eyes snapped open, determination written across the features of the young child as he fired arrow after arrow, each one landing either on the bullseye, or just shy of it. The usually stern-faced marksman let a wide smile slip easily onto his face, pulling the young boy into his arms as he finished firing. The amount of progress the young boy had just made was astounding, considering this was only his third day of training in any weapons at all. They'd only just convinced Loki to let them start training his son, the Trickster being afraid of pulling him into violence at such an early stage of life, as well as what injuries that could cause. Clint had argued that the kid was in danger anyway, considering his family, he may as well have some way of defending himself, should the worst happen. It had taken a while, but they had finally worn Loki down, until he gave in with little more than an admittedly terrifying threat about what would happen to anyone who allowed anything to befall his little boy.

He swung the little one in his arms, grunting at how big he was actually getting. It seemed like only yesterday they'd had to rush Loki to the medical suite, him screaming bloody murder.

"Hey, why so happy?" Tony leaned against the doorway, amusement glittering in his eyes. Clint knew that look all too well. It was the look he wore when he knew the answer to a question, but wanted to give his son the joy of answering for himself, of showing his father his accomplishments.

"Daddy, daddy, look how many arrows I got on the board! Arrows, not knives! Clint taught me to centre myself and use all my senses and be one with the arrow and it was amazing! Are you proud of me daddy?" Clint had to stifle a chuckle at the pride that filled Tony's face. Was there anything this boy did that wouldn't make that man well up with pride? Tony Stark, once considered heartless, wiping away tears just at seeing how happy his son was at learning a new skill.

"Of course I am, bud! Come on, let's go get you some cake and ice cream, little warrior. Then you can show your Dad your knife throwing, and beat uncle Thor at Halo again, sound good?" Tony picked up the beaming youth, turning to leave the room. He stopped in the door frame, turning back ever so slightly so the laughing boy could call out:

"Thanks Uncle Clint, you're a good teacher."

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#2

"Shhh...shh..no giggling, now, or it won't work. You ready?"

Charlie nodded, his hand pressed against his ear to keep the slightly too large earpiece in. He crept silently into the room, finding his target at the desk, and ensuring he stayed out of their line of sight. Almost there...almost..

"It's not going to work"

Charlie sighed as his father spun in his chair to face him, a mischievious smirk present on his pale face. "Not many people can sneak up on me, my own son included. I presume Aunt Tasha has been teaching you espionage skills?"

The little head in front of him bobbed up and down dejectedly. Loki sighed softly, placing a finger under his son's chin and lifting his head until green eyes met.

"It is not a fault of yours. I have had too many try to sneak up on me for it to work yet, for one so young. You are still a child, your teachers forget this. A few more lessons with Aunt Tasha and you will be sneaking up on even her. Understand? You're doing so very well, little prince, and I am very proud of you, but you still have lessons to learn. Run along now, I'm sure Natasha is waiting for you, since I turned your communicator off a few minutes ago."

Charlie made his way back to Aunt Tasha's room slowly, not wanting to face her disappointment in him. When faced with her, however, he saw a devilish smile playing at her lips as she gestured him over to the computer on the desk. On one side of the split screen display was him, talking to his father, and on the other side was Natash, emptying out a bottle of his fathers shampoo and filling it with a white substance. He turned back to his aunt, the question written in his face.

"Blonde instant hair dye. How pretty do you think Iron man will look with his hair white as the sand? Loki wouldn'tve let us do this, you know he likes to be the only one pulling pranks" She muffled a giggle into her hand, but Charlie was still confused.

"But why-" He was cut off as Natasha gripped his shoulders, smirk still on her face, and pulled him so she could whisper in his ear.

"Lesson 1: When to use a distraction."

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#3

The music started up, softly, wafting through the room from the old record player Steve set up in the corner of the room. All of the tables were pushed back, creating a massive space in the centre of the lounge. Charlie moved forwards, gripping Steve's hands in his own, gritting his teeth as Steve corrected him. There was an important gala coming up for his Daddy's company, and everyone insisted he must learn to dance, and show up the other kids there. Charlie had argued that there probably wouldn't be any other kids there, because no other kids had parents that made them go to this stuff, but Aunt Pepper had been adamant that he had to support his Father's company, because one day it would be his.

"And..1,2,3...1,2,3...Let me lead for now Charlie, you can lead in a minute once you've gotten the hand of it okay?"

Charlie tutted and sighed, but agreed that he probably shouldn't be in a leadership position right now, considering how much he was stepping on Steve's feet. Not that it seemed to bother the super soldier, but Charlie winced each time anyway, knowing it probably hurt, even if not much.

They danced through three songs with Steve leading, and by then Charlie felt he had grasped the waltz, simple as it was, and so reversed the roles, getting Steve to follow his lead. They danced through another song before Charlie made his first mistake whilst leading.

He had lead them a bit far to the side of the room, over to where some of the furniture was, but Steve said nothing, confident that Charlie would lead them back when he noticed. Unfortunately at that moment, Charlie caught his shoe on the edge of one of the rugs, send his toppling sideways, Steve with him. Steve was fortunate enough to land on the couch, but Charlies head connected with the corner of a table, a sharp crack sounding on contact. Charlie let out a yell, crying for his father. He knew that when he was hurt, he just needed his Dad to come fix it with magic.

Loki, hearing his Son's cry from his room, rushed to the rescue of course, healing the bleeding wound on the side of his head and soothing the frightened child with his silky words. Steve sat off to the side, staring at the blood on his hands from Charlie's accident. He was startled when Loki put a hand on his shoulder, indicating with his head he should rejoin the young boy, now happily sitting on the couch, watching them. Steve calmed his face and hopped off of his stool.

"Alright kid?"

"Yes, Uncle Steve. Can we carry on dancing now?" Steve sighed, not wanting to risk Charlie hurting himself again, but knowing he couldn't really say no.

"Alright, one more try. But what have you learned?"

Charlie laughed softly, knowing when he was being gently adominished.

"Pay attention to where I walk...or dance."

Steve smiled, took the small hand in his own, and the music started once more.

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#4

"Alright...Hydrogen?"

"1 electron. Uncle Bruce, why am I even learning this? Daddy said Chemistry and Biology and psychology were soft sciences, that physics and maths were the only ones worth knowing!"

Bruce nodded, pushing his glasses further up his nose and turning to face the young man seated on his desk. He gave the boy a soft smile, letting him know he wasn't cross at being interrupted about this.

"Your father would say that, Charlie. Tony has a...bad habit for blocking out what he doesn't need at the time. But since he uses Physics and Maths all the time, he never really blocks those out. Can you keep a secret?" Bruce let out a chuckle as Charlie nodded so hard he almost banged his head on his knees in his excitement. Like Loki, Charlie always longed to know the secrets he probably shouldn't.

"There have been times...before I knew Tony, when he could've used a good psychiatrist, to help him with his PTSD. Same for your other father, he had...slight issues with food. They have both had dark times in their past when they really needed some help. As for Biology and Chemistry...well without those, who would help us when we're sick, or injured? Doctors use Biology and Chemistry in their work, and not everyone is as fortunate as us to have a sorcerer to heal our wounds when we need it. Plus, when your father gets hurt himself, or is in Asgard, we still need the doctors and nurses to patch us up. Understand?"

Charlie nodded, understanding now why his Dad always tutted when Daddy went on his long rants about how useless other Sciences were. He saw the worried look on his Dad's face every time Daddy got injured, and he remembered the nice Doctors in the white coats that helped Daddy when he broke his ribs and Dad couldn't fix it.

"Uncle Bruce, did the Doctors help Dad when he had me?"

Bruce laughed, carding a hand through his hair, submitting to the fact that while his original lesson may have been ruined by this diversion, he could at least know he taught Charlie something about appreciating other fields of science.

"Yes, Charlie, they helped him alot. I remember how he screamed.."

And when Tony passed by the lab half an hour later to find Bruce teaching his son about Genetics, and where he got his eye colour from, and why his hair was dark brown...well...biology wasn't all that bad.

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#5

"Well done, Tiny LokiStark! You are triumphant yet again!" Thor beamed as he watched his little nephew best the competition on his video gaming device. He knew not the name of the game, but knew it involved a vast battle, and many lives lost. Together thay had chosen a fearsome weapon, that would be best for smiting his foes, and now he was content to watch the action unfold.

"Uncle Thor, watch me slay the monsters! They're really ugly and they all died and I killed them! Am I a good warrior, Uncle Thor?"

Thors booming laugh echoed through the mansion as he ruffled Charlies dark hair. Inside, however, anxieties made themselves known.

"Uncle Thor...why do I kill the bad guys in this game? They didn't do anything to me, but it says I have to kill them. It's not that I don't like the game....but I don't understand why"

Thor sighed, moving to sit in the plush armchair, inviting his nephew to scramble up to sit on his knee. He laid a hand on the bony shoulder, noting how he needed to feed his Nephew up some more.

"It is a complex question, you ask, but I have some experience with battles such as this, so I shall answer as best I know. Sometimes....Sometimes, little one, people dislike others simply because they are different. Because they have been told all their lives that the other people are to be feared, and never spoken to or liked. It is a sorry state, but it occurs more often than you think. Once...there was a time when I vowed to Odin Allfather that I would slay those I thought monsters. But one I loved, more than anyone else in Asgard, happened to be one of those I had vowed to slay. I had been brought up my entire childhood, with Frigga telling me at the knee that I should fear the Jotun-kind, that they would destroy Asgard. What she failed to tell me, was that your father was actually Jotun, adopted into our Aesir family." Thor dropped his head sadly to look at the young one he held. Charlie's eyes were wide, not expecting this revelation.

"Dad was one of the monsters?"

"They are not monsters." Thor was quick to reply, not wanting to lead his young charge down that road. "I was a fool, and I was young, easily influenced. It was because of this foolishness that all of Asgard pushed your father away, because even with his glamour on, he was so obviously different. But Loki was mischievious, and light-hearted, and a free spirit. He remains my best friend and bother to this day. We must not immediately hate what scares us, or what appears different from us, or what we do not understand. We must take the time to know them, before we assume they mean us harm. Do you understand?"

Charlie nodded solemnly, having taken his Uncles words to heart. He would not judge people for their differences, for sometimes it was that which made them special. His Dad was different because of his magic, but the magic was invaluable to their team. He moved back to his game, bringing up the mission plan and reading the profile of his enemies, eyes glued to the screen.

Well, he had to get to know them before he killed them, right?

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+1

"Where the Hell is Stark? And Loki...the other Stark?" Fury paced in front of the long table in the conference room. The Avengers each gave him the same response, that they had no idea, and he had had it up to here with those two being late to his debriefings.

"I swear if they're off making another baby somewhere-" He was cut off, unexpectedly, by a young voice in the doorway. The entire team, minus the missing duo, turned to face Charlie as he stood in the doorway, tear tracks on his face, fidgeting nervously as he spoke to Fury, voice wavering slightly.

"My Father is injured, Mr. Fury sir. Father refuses to leave his side, and is tending to him. I thought someone should let you know.." His voice shook towards the end of his statement, and they all knew how scared he was. Charlie rarely referred to his parents as just Father, as he knew it confused the heck out of the team. Bruce was the first to respond.

"Which father is hurt, Charlie? Dad or Daddy?"

Charlie fidgeted, pulling at the hem of his shirt, the other hand gradually having the fingernails bitten down to the quick. They had to lean forward to hear him as he whispered one shaky word, shocking them all.

"Dad."

Thor scooped the shaking child onto his lap as the room exploded in sound, everyone expressing their confusion. It was very rare that Loki got hurt, his magic often protecting him - and Tony for that matter- from harm. Naturally, when something did happen, everyone assumed Loki had made some sort of mistake.

"Bastard probably wasn't even looking at the target, too busy getting lost in Tony's eyes" Clint expressed from his nest in the rafters. Natasha snorted.

"Yeah, or planning his next kid."

"How could he let his guard down like that? No thought for the team.." That one was Steve.

Something broke in Charlie then, jumping up from his Uncles lap and turning to face his family, growling slightly. They fell into silence, never having seen the little one so angry before.

"You shut up right now! You have no right to say such mean things!" He felt his face reddening, and felt Fury's disapproving eye on his neck, but he didn't care. Bruce looked at him carefully, probably thinking of his manners or something.

"Now Charlie-"

"No! You stop it! My father puts everything he has into battle, and he doesn't have to! He does it all, he looks after me most of the time, he cooks, because none of you guys do, he makes time for Daddy, he goes into battle and he tries his best! I heard what you all said just now, you think he doesn't try hard enough! Let me ask you, did any of you know there's a limit to his supply of magic? Or not so much a limit, but if he goes past a certain point it draws energy from him, and it hurts? Today, in that battle, he teleported each of you to safety when you were at risk of getting hurt, I know, Daddy told me and showed me the videos of the battle! Did you all not realize that every time you became a bit overwhelmed, a few of your foes would suddenly disappear? Only to reappear in front of Dad? He takes everything he can from you because he loves you all so much, and he does it without complaining, even though it hurts him. He was actually busy working an enchantment to save Uncle Steve from being stabbed by the horde surrounding him, when one of the bad guys hurt him. And he didn;t have the magic to heal himself! Let me tell you, if nothing else, my father tries his very best to keep you all safe, because he cares about all of you, and now he's hurt, and you're standing up here finding blame to put on him? I love you guys, but you're not acting like a family right now." Charlie finished off his rant, shaking from the adrenaline of it and breathing heavily. He didn't think he had ever gotten that angry at his family before.

"Well said." Seven heads swivelled to see Tony stood in the doorway, a frown on his face and arms crossed on his chest. He walked into the room, picking his son up and rubbing his trembling back, rubbing a hand through his hair. He was slightly stunned himself. He knew Charlie was intelligent, how could he not be, with who he had for parents, but to understand what had just happened...and to be able to argue his point like that...he had never been more proud of his son than right now. Standing up for your family was hard, he knew, but standing up for your family, against your family, was even harder. He gave a cold look to the rest of his team, some part of him knowing this had been coming for a while. He knew what the team thought of Loki sometimes, that he didn't care, that Tony and Charlie were the only things keeping him here. He was disappointed, he'd hoped they would realize that wasn't the case eventually, but evidently not.

"He's right, you know. You guys need to get it through your head that Loki is one of us now, and he loves you guys. Sometimes I think he loves you more than I do. If any of you actually care, he'll be okay. he lost a lot of blood, and his magic is weak right now, because of that, but he'll live. He was unconscious when we got back, which none of you seemed to notice we didn't come back with you, by the way, but he woke up a few minutes ago. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what his first words were when he woke up? Np? No-one? He asked me how you guys were. Asked if any of you were injured. Almost passed right out again trying to sit up in case any of you needed healing. How many times have one of you asked how he is? Think about that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take my son to see his Dad, and leave you all to wallow in your guilt. Come on Charlie, lets give them time for the lesson to sink in."

As the genius led his son from the room, the Avengers sat in silence, each contemplating what they had just heard. When they finally moved from the conference room, all of them headind down to the infirmary to visit their fallen friend, they all knew the same thing. They had a lot to thank Loki for today.

They had learned their lesson.