mishaloganovich:

Misha almost opted out of the family dinner, but a) he didn't have a note from Saint Peter and b) Anya probably already knew he turned another armor suit into a cracked sculpture. The way he was going through suits, two this year alone, any income he might get in the future from the Renn Tech stock was probably earmarked to pay for them. Besides, he owed Nick a monkey dance and Mom an update on what was going on.

He showed up with chocolates for Mom and Anya, a bunch of bananas for Nick, and the damaged armor in a duffel.

stark_ravingmad:

"Tony Stark" unlocked the door to his penthouse (after taking a moment to search for the keys) and stepped inside, looking around. The place was completely new to to him, though he went over it with a practiced eye. He found all of the exits first, then checked out places where ambushes could be laid.

On a hunch, he went into the kitchen and checked in the cabinets, followed by the space between the sink and the refrigerator and found a gun wedged between the two.

"Some things never change." 'Tony' says to himself, taking the gun and placing it /behind/ the refrigerator, between the appliance and the wall.

Time to get started on this little farce.

"HONEY! NICK! I'M HOME!" Tony calls out loudly.

It is 3am.
 

redheadspy:

"I thought we were going to go away for a few days," Natasha said to her husband as she watched him pack a suitcase. Nick was sitting on her hip happily chewing away at an animal cracker. She and Tony had plans to take a small vacation, but now it looked like those plans had changed. Her husband was packing for a business trip, or so it seemed.

redheadspy:

"I should have known you wouldn't sleep much," Natasha said in Russian as she walked around the living room with Nick against a shoulder. "Your brother and sister didn't sleep much either." Her voice was barely above a whisper as she spoke to her son. The child didn't know what sleep meant, but it just proved that he was a Stark and a Romanov.

Natasha stopped walking for a moment and took a quick peak to see if Nick was sleeping. His eyes were closed and a thumb was shoved in his mouth. Finally! She had been walking the living room for the past hour trying to get him back to sleep. It was three in the morning and Natasha wanted to be snuggled up next to her husband and asleep.

Five more minutes and then she can put him down and go to bed.

anyastark:

Anya looked at her watch. Ten minutes late. She didn't think her father would ever be on time for anything. The press conference for the unveiling of the zero point energy technology was supposed to start ten minutes ago, but Dad was late. Though he called it making an entrance.

Anya didn't like press conferences and would prefer to stay out of the spotlight, unusual for a Stark, but her father insisted she be here for this. Zero point energy had been her and Justin's project and they should be the ones to unveil it to the public.

Well at least she could give Justin the finished code for the tricorder. She had finished it yesterday and was going to send it to him, but this way she could give it to him in person.

Anya started to pace.

redheadspy:

Natasha stared into the darkness and thought about getting up. Sleep had been elusive for the past few weeks since Tony told her about Temujin. She didn't know if the thought of Temujin being out there or her problems with her husband kept her awake at night, or if it was a combination of both that did it. She did know that she missed her husband next to her at night.

Oh to hell with this. If she was going to be awake, she may as well get up and get some coffee and something to eat. She skipped dinner and hadn't thought about food even after Nick went to sleep for the night. It was easy to slip back into old habits of not eating and not sleeping.

She got up from the bed and slipped on her robe and slippers. Lights weren't needed as she made her way out to the kitchen. Coffee was started and she opened the fridge to see what was in there.

anyastark:

It was getting to be crunch time and finals were on the horizon and Anya was doing the usual last minute push to get things done before the end of the semester. The end of her second year was fast approaching and there was a project to finish up before finals hit.

She looked at the computer screen. That couldn't be right. Dammit she just did a diagnostic on the M.A.R.A.'s (Maintenance And Repair Automoton) systems and these readouts looked /wrong/. Well they looked very different from the ones from the diagnostics she did two days ago. This couldn't be happening now. Not when she was so close to finishing the project and handing it in.

"Goddard? Are these the correct readouts?" she asked the AI in her lab.

stark_ravingmad:

Tony watches as Reed looks Eddie over, while Hank goes over the information via satellite transmission. In his mind, he's trying to trace the steps in their procedures, but genetics isn't one of his fields. He has to trust that his friend can figure out if Eddie's current ability to walk is tied to an X-Gene or if it really is just a random beneficial quirk in the boy's genes. Eddie comes from good stock, so Tony wouldn't mind a reason to shout that from the rooftops.

"Hey, Buddy! Mommy and Daddy are right here. You havin' a good time? We'll go do something fun after this. I promise." Tony says, trying to keep Eddie's mind off everybody's staring at him.

stark_ravingmad:

Tony had thought to clear out Big Nick's for the evening, but if he did, Tasha's Spy-dar would go off and she'd figure out the plot. The only person he could trust with his secrets was Eddie, who wouldn't talk (not that he could right now). Still, his wife mentioned the other day that she wanted a big, juicy cheeseburger and Tony knew just the place to take her.

Of course, he put out a call to the kids to join them.

While Tasha got ready for their "date", Tony got Eddie ready to go out.

"Okay, Buddy. You make with the cuteness to distract your mother, and I'll play the tape when it's time. Got it? " Tony asks, smiling at his son.

Eddie grinned back in reply.

"Honey, are you ready?" Tony asks, carrying Eddie with him to find Tasha.

stark_ravingmad:

Tony waited in his office for Justin, Toni and Harvey to arrive and went over the pitch with them. He hoped Rhodey would show as well; he wanted everyone to start off on the right foot with this whole thing.

When Justin arrived, Tony nodded.

"Good to see you. How are you feeling?" he asks.

stark_ravingmad:

Tony made sure that the table in the board room was bolted down and that there are no objects that can be thrown anywhere nearby. He knows that Rhodey can get a little passionate at times and Pepper...can be just a little neurotic. The last thing he needs is either of them trying to kill him.

As a precaution, however, Tony does have his suitcase armor stashed out of sight behind a desk.

He waits for his friends to arrive and prays that this goes over better than he's imagined it will.

anyastark:

Anya flew to New York after her last class of the day. Thankfully she was done with classes at noon today so she had plenty of time to spend with Mom, Dad and Nick. It had been awhile and Anya needed contact with the family on a regular basis or things weren't right with the world. Not to mention she had to see how Dad was doing with the whole her getting married to Steve thing.

While Dad was still working Anya played with Nick and let Mom take a nap. She could handle a baby for an hour or two.

The two of them sat on the floor in the living room and Anya made funny faces and noises at Nick to get him to laugh. Laugh he did. Nick was a happy baby and was always laughing and smiling. Anya laughed right along with him. Little brothers were great she concluded. It was the older ones that gave her grief.

"Who's the best baby?" she asked and poked his little belly.

nextgen_misc:

The invitations to THE wedding of the year went out today. Heads of state, diplomats and dignitaries from all over the world would be receiving invitations. The fervor over the wedding was building and would reach a peak when Kate Middleton walked down the isle.

anyastark:

Valentine's Day had been busy to say the least. Getting married in Vegas and the flying back to New York for the charity auction left little time to tell the parents that Anya and Steve got married. So the solution was to invite them all to dinner on the fifteenth and break the news to them that way.

Anya made reservations at The Capital Grille for a private room and then sent invites to her parents and Steve's parents. Privacy was needed because she wasn't quite sure what the reactions would be.

Anya put on a simple black dress, heels and did her hair. She arrived with Steve and were shown to the private room and their table. She held his hand while they waited for the parents to arrive.

nextgen_parent:

Tony, for once, was enjoying a quiet afternoon on the couch while Tasha took Eddie out to fill his head with all kinds of craziness under the guise of shopping. When they got back, Tony was gong have to spend time finding out what his wife was telling their son, and slowly explaining to him that Mommy liked to embellish certain things...unless they were compliments about Tony.

Those would be treated as gospel, Tony decided.

When the knock at the door came, Tony figured it was one of the kids coming to visit Tasha, though she usually kept them informed of her whereabouts.

Of course, the moment he opened the door, he really wished it /had/ been one of the kids.

anyastark:

Once and awhile Anya needed some Dad and Princess time. When she was growing up there was a lot of time with Dad, but as she got older the time with him diminished and now it was almost nonexistent. Dad had a company to run along with a wife and a newborn son to deal with. She had school, a team and a boyfriend and they both had more family members to deal with. Before it was just the two of them for the majority of the time and it was them against the world. Now the team had gotten bigger and it meant less time with just the two of them.

Friday afternoon saw her stopping by the company to ambush him in his office. He had left for work by the time she got home from the Avengers mansion and Steve. Mom had said that he went in to sign paperwork Pepper had been nagging him about. Though Anya suspected it has something to do with Nick being fussy.

She knocked on the door and stuck her head in.

redheadspy:

Christmas in the Stark/Romanov household was a noisy and chaotic affair. This year they had two more additional family members in the form of Nick and Stevie. Three if you count Justin since the Rhodeses were family.

Natasha and Nick were up with the crack of dawn. Nick, like all people in the family except for James, didn't sleep much and had his mom up with the sun. Thankfully Chef Lokken was an early riser and had coffee and muffins ready. Eventually one by one the family members would make an appearance.

The Rhodeses were invited over of course. They were just as much as a part of the family as anyone else. Stevie was sent an invitation. Anya and James were here and Misha and Eliza were sent information about family stuff. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the chaos to start.

anyastark:

It was quite the day for Anya. It was day of the Maria Stark Foundation's Annual Winter Charity Ball, it was Steve's birthday and it was also Stevie's birthday. Anya hadn't much of a chance to get to know her dimensional half-sister, but she wasn't going to let Stevie's birthday go past without doing something for her sister.

Anya knew Stevie liked cars, so it was easy to find a gift. A small wrapped box was put on Stevie's bed. Inside was a set of car keys and a note that read 'A project for you. Happy birthday from Anya'. The keys went to the shell of a 65 Mustang Convertible

Anya hoped Stevie liked it.

nextgen_holiday:

“We’re here outside the Four Seasons Hotel in New York where the who’s who is gathered tonight. Celebrities, royals and superheroes have all turned out for the annual Maria Stark Foundation Winter Charity event benefiting Toys for Tots.

It’s truly an all-star gala here tonight.

New York’s own princess, Anya Stark, was seen being escorted by what appears to be her new flame, actor Austin Cain. Her brother and currently second in line to the Russian throne, Mikhail Romanov, was seen entering the party with Lyta Worthington, heiress to Worthington Industries. Tony and Natasha Stark, parents of a new baby, are making their first public appearance since the birth of their son.

Mackenzie Rider, a prince of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, is escorting Ms. Andrea Denker of the Fantastic Four tonight. Kristoff Vernard, leader of the Fantastic Four, was seen in attendance with his wife Cassandra and their son Scotty. Vincent Amorason, heir to Latveria, arrived alongside his brother and was seen escorting a member of the Defenders, Asleif Thorsdottir. The rest of the Fantastic Four are here too with their dates, though Miss Valeria Richards is not in attendance. Franklin Richards is in attendance and is escorting one Miss Gill.

Los Angeles’ own superhero team, the Defenders are in attendance as well. Arriving with her team is Grace Danvers, daughter of Hollywood hunk Simon Williams and she is being escorted by teammate, Eiltin. The two Asgardian princesses and daughters of Thor, Asleif and Aridis, are also attending the festivities with their team.
Akilah Munore, the crown princess of Wakanda, is here tonight with her steady flame, Daniel Sherwood a member of the Young Avengers. The other Young Avengers are in attendance tonight with their dates, alongside the adult Avengers.

Donald Trump arrived with his wife and is one of many other famous faces to arrive. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Hugh Jackman, Jack Nicholson, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift are just a few celebrities who have made an appearance here tonight.

It’s truly a party of the who’s who and it’s all for a great cause.”

son_of_genius:

After the recent incident with the teddy bears, and the build up of other incidents in the past, Franklin had decided that enough was enough.  It wasn't safe for him to live in the Baxter Building, considering the location.  He needed to be somewhere else, and with people who stood a better chance as fending off things that could go wrong with his powers.  He made arrangements to talk with Tony Stark about moving in with the Defenders.

Franklin had gotten the go-ahead from Pepper and knocked on the door to Tony's office.

redheadspy:

Natasha opened her eyes. It was morning and she was actually waking up on her own instead of to the cries of her son. It was a very rare occasion. Maybe sleeping a little extra longer was Nick's birthday preset to Tony. She turned over and was not too surprised to find her husband still in bed. So far he had been up with her each time that Nick woke her up.

"Happy birthday, my love," she said as she leaned up on an elbow and kissed his cheek. "Moose and squirrel." There. She said it. For him. For his birthday.

redheadspy:

Natasha was restless. No matter what she did she could not get comfortable. She tried stretching out on the couch, sitting in a chair, laying down on the couch, and walking around the penthouse and not one thing was close to being comfortable. It was a common hazard at this point in a pregnancy.

A part of her was glad that Tony was on the West Coast. He would be hovering and asking her if she were alright every few minutes, which of course would have improved his chances of getting shot. He left her with babysitters who were a little better about it. James and Val and Misha were in the living room watching a movie. Ivan, who had arrived two days ago, was in the recliner with his eyes closed and snoring.

Natasha was in the kitchen pacing a bit. Idly she wondered if SHIELD would let her use the firing range. She needed something relaxing to do and something to keep her mind off the mild contractions she was having. This baby couldn’t be coming yet, but of course it would be since Tony was across the country.

The contractions were still ten minutes apart and weren’t hurting much. Yet. These things took time which is exactly why she wasn’t going to tell the kids just yet. Misha had been a marathon. Twenty two hours in labor. She remembered feeling like she had singlehandedly fought World War three after giving birth to him. Anya had been a little quicker at twenty hours. Natasha would bet money this one would be longer. Call it a gut feeling.

It was time to call her husband. He needed time to get back here. He helped cause this and he was going to be here for this baby’s birth...or else. Natasha grabbed a glass of water and headed for his office to call him.

redheadspy:

To say that she was uncomfortable would be a huge understatement. Natasha was huge, clumsy, and very awkward. With two weeks left in this pregnancy, she just wanted it to be over already. Knowing her luck, this kid would be late prolonging her discomfort.

Currently she was stretched out on the couch with her feet up. Her ankles were swollen and achy and her back had been hurting almost non-stop. All of it just helped to make her cranky, which is probably why Tony was down in the lab. There had been a lot of growling and grumbling this morning and her husband had retreated out of the line of fire. Natasha was enjoying the last few moments of quiet she would get in a very long time.

That quiet was about to be interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.

Natasha sighed and slid off the edge of the couch, carefully getting to her feet. It had to be someone they knew since not just anyone could get up here.

She opened the door was a little surprised to see who was standing there.

"Nick?"

redheadspy:

Natasha sat down on the couch and opened the sealed manila envelope the courier had just delivered. She knew what it was, it was an updated copy of her will, but she wanted to check it over for errors. Jen had been great about doing this on such short notice, but Natasha didn't have too much longer before the baby would come.

It wasn't that Natasha thought that something would happen to her during childbirth, but she was going to be prepared. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. She lived her life by that thought. It had helped keep her alive this long.

Natasha read the document, noting all the assets that were listed and who they were slated to go to just in case something did happen to her. Sure she was married to one of the richest men on the planet, but Natasha had a considerate amount of wealth in her own right. There was money in numerous bank accounts across the world in her different aliases. Collecting all of that information and remembering what was where and under what name had been a chore and a half, but it had given her something to keep her occupied while Tony worked. In the end she got it all organized and had drafted up a new will.

The kids of course would get the lion's share of her estate. It would be divided evenly between Misha, Anya, Eliza, James and the baby. There was even a small part set aside for Stevie, her step-daughter, if the girl remained in this dimension. Tony of course would get her physical assets to do with what he saw fit. She still had a few safe houses in the US and a few in other countries. She hadn't sold all of them when she sold the majority of them last year for Tony's birthday present. There were also a few cars and her personal items.

She continued to look for any errors as she read the document.

redheadspy:

The Stark/Romanov Family Dinner. It was a study and exercise in insanity. They were usually loud, chaotic and entertaining to say the least. Natasha wasn't quite sure if she was up for this one or not. Her back was hurting and her ankles and feet were uncomfortably swollen. The good feeling of the second trimester was gone and the uncomfortable third was here. Though she wouldn't back out or tell Tony she didn't want to do it. They would have dinner and be entertained by the kids. Or so she hoped.

Picking a place was key, but this time she opted for Tony to get a private room at Delmonico's. Steak for the carnivores and private so that if things got loud they wouldn't embarrass themselves. And Natasha felt like dressing up a bit.

She had a new dress from Jan, a new pair of shoes and the earrings Tony gave her when she proposed to him.

When she and Tony were ready, he drove them to the restaurant. They even managed to beat the kids there.

redheadspy:

Natasha had enjoyed the break from being pregnant, but if she had to admit it she missed her own body. It wasn't because her husband didn't have a good body, he did and Natasha had appreciated every inch on many occasions, but it didn't feel like home. It felt different and not quite right.

There were very noticeable differences between men and women and Natasha still wasn't used to some of them. She would swear that a certain part of a man's body definitely had a mind of its own and Natasha had found herself in an uncomfortable position a few times. Looking at other men no less. She could just imagine what people thought at Tony Stark staring at men. Though there was something to be said about being able to pee standing up.

Quite frankly she was tired of women slipping her their phone numbers wherever she went. She had a wife crying out loud. Did these women have no shame? There were a few who had practically thrown themselves at her. It had taken a lot of restraint not to do something that would make them and her regret their own actions.

Even though pregnancy was uncomfortable for the most part, Natasha did miss certain things about it. Definitely not the back pain or the swollen feet and ankles, but she did miss feeling the baby move. Okay, so maybe not the kicks, but feeling a growing life moving inside of you was something special. She missed it.

They hadn't had any luck finding Stephen. According to the Defenders he had vanished in a fight with Dormammu. Definitely not good news and November was quickly approaching. They had to find some way to switch back before Nick decided to make his entrance into the world. She did not want to deal with Tony in labor. No amount of chocolate or coffee existed to deal with that.

When they finally did switch back, Tony was going to kill her. She had put about ten pounds of weight on his body. She blamed it on the chocolate and sympathy eating. Well in her defense she didn't know when this was going to end and she wouldn't be allowed much chocolate until after the baby was born.

Natasha yawned and looked at the clock. It was getting late and she knew she wasn't going to sleep well. Not with Tony tossing and turning all night in between the many trips to the bathroom. She appreciated her husband even more after realizing how much a pregnant person moved about at night. Not once had the man complained about it during the whole pregnancy.

Natasha yawned and turned off the lights in the penthouse and then made her way to the bedroom.

nextgen_holiday:

The air was warm and the sun was bright making it a perfect day for a cookout to celebrate Labor Day. Classes would start on the 8th (for those going to college they started a week ago) and it was the last chance to kick back and cut loose before hitting the books.

At the Avengers' Mansion in NYC Jarvis and some helpers he managed to rope into helping with the preparations were busy getting the food ready. Tables had been placed out around the pool and the large grill fired up to get nice and hot. Burgers, hot dogs, sausage, ribs, corn on the cob, pasta salad, salad and fruit salad were just some of the food available to eat. Soda, water, fruit juice and other beverages were on ice.

To help get to know each other the Thunderbolts received an invitation to attend.

It was a day of rest and relaxations for those who put their lives on the line for others.

redheadspy:

It had taken some time and a lot of hints and suggestions, but Natasha had finally convinced Tony to take a few days off and go somewhere else. Natasha was getting cabin fever and had to get out of the penthouse for a little while. She would shoot someone if she didn't get a change of scenery and she would need her husband around after the baby came.

It was nice on Martha's Vineyard this time of the year and it was close enough to New York that if something happened they could get home easily enough. The yacht was nice, but Natasha wanted dry land under her feet and places to shop. She loved the small quaint shops on the Vineyard and she would convince her husband to take her shopping.

They got settled in at Tony's house on the Vineyard after a four hour drive (and many stops to use the bathroom) and a short ferry ride over to the island. As soon as they were settled, Natasha went to find her husband to see if he wanted to go for a bite to eat. Someone was demanding french fries.

anyastark:

The week had been a busy one for Anya and she needed some major downtime. Classes had loaded her down with homework and she had personal projects that needed to be done. Upgrades for Darlene, upgrades for Darwin and Schrodinger and upgrades for the computer systems in the Thunderbolts Headquarters. She still had to find time to take a trip to the West Coast to upgrade the computers at the Defenders' Headquarters. All of this translated into a week with very little sleep. She was in dire need of that downtime.

The best way to spend downtime was with her amazing boyfriend.

Anya had made arrangements earlier in the week and when classes were over on Friday, she rocketed to New York. The game started at 7pm, but they had to be there quite a bit earlier than that. Anya grabbed a quick shower, dressed in a shirt and jeans and slipped on her pair of Doc Marten boots. She had told Steve they had plans for the evening, but she hadn't elaborated on what those plans were. Starks could be devious.

With a smile on her face and a bounce in her step, she went to find Steve.

anyastark:

Anya felt like being home for the night. It wasn't that she didn't like Cambridge or her team, just once and awhile she needed to be home and be around her crazy family. Tonight was one of those nights. As soon as classes were over and she checked on the team, she suited up and rocketed home to New York.

She thought about going to see Steve, but tonight family was called for. She just hoped that Mom wasn't cranky and Dad was actually home. Otherwise it would be time with Brother Dork Two and Anya didn't feel like getting her ass kicked at video games all night.

It was around four-ish when she arrived at the penthouse and found Mom and Dad there. Thankfully she hadn't walked in on anything that would send her to see Doc Samson. Then again Anya had been certain to call ahead and ask Mom what they were doing for dinner tonight and weigh in with what she wanted. That was a clue that she was going to be there and adults needed to be dressed.

She spent some time catching up with Mom and explaining the SHIELD and SWORD mess and then went to find Dad. It had been awhile since she had some quality time with him and just sat down and talked. She missed him and missed talking to him on a regular basis.

Anya found him in the home office. She knocked lightly on the open door to get his attention.

redheadspy:

There were very few things that they did as a family so it made these family dinners even more important. They were an unorthodox family to say the least, but they were a family and families had dinner on occasion. Natasha tried to do this at least once a month, but things had been so hectic lately and with people spread out all over it was hard to organize family dinners.

Reservations were made at Delmonico Steakhouse in a private room. Family dinners were an /experience/ and better that they were off in private instead of scaring the masses. Not to mention there was less chance of the media snapping pictures and whatnot.

Natasha checked her reflection in the mirror. It was a new black dress to accommodate her growing stomach and her favorite jewelry. There was definitely a very noticeable baby bump now. The baby had become very active in the past two weeks and was taking aim at Tasha's organs. Thankfully he was still small enough to not hurt so much.

When they were ready to go Tony and Tasha headed over to the restaurant. The kids would arrive with their dates on their own. They were shown to the private room and their table.

redheadspy:

Natasha walked slowly through the elaborate gardens on the palace grounds. Her nephew Mikhail had wanted her to sit in on a meeting, but the day was too lovely to not be outside. The sun was a balmy 60 degrees. Natasha smiled as she inhaled the perfumed air and soaked up the warm sunlight. Bright flowers in bloom surrounded her and added to the tranquility of the gardens.

It was much better than sitting in on a meeting.

She had used her pregnancy as an excuse and told her nephew she wanted to nap for awhile. Jet lag and pregnancy not mixing well or something along those lines.

The beautiful setting of the gardens helped to take her mind off of Ivan. The old man's health was in decline and Natasha worried about him. He was in his nineties and still had a sharp mind, but time was catching up to him. His body was beginning to fail him and Natasha and Ivan both knew he didn't have much time left.

There was a tightness in Natasha's chest at the thought of losing Ivan. He had been with her for her entire life and she couldn't imagine life without him. Ivan had been her only family for many decades. He was the only father she had ever known. He was a grandfather to her children.

She was so enmeshed in her inner thoughts she almost didn't notice the small fluttering feeling in her abdomen.

Natasha stopped walking and concentrated. She couldn't have been imagining it. There. Another one. Natasha smiled. The baby was moving and she just felt it for the first time. She just wished Tony could have been here for this. Still smiling, Natasha started walking again.

nextgen_russia:

The people of Russia were in a festive mood and they had reason to be. Their tsar, Tsar Mikhail Petrovich Romanov, was getting married to Duchess Tatyana Sergeyeva. The past few months had been spent planning and getting ready for this day. They were happy to see their tsar get married and would be even happier when the tsar and the tsarina had an heir. The newly restored Imperial family needed stability and the marriage today was the first step in providing that stability.

The wedding ceremony lasted over an hour in the Assumption Cathedral. Immediately after Mikhail and Tatyana were pronounced man and wife, Tatyana was crowned empress. The procession left the cathedral and the newly wed couple and newly crowned empress greeted the people from the Red Porch.

The royal family was given time to change and refresh themselves before heading to the Grand Kremlin Palace for the wedding banquet. Dinner was an elaborate affair and lasted for two hours.

After dinner the royal family and guests made their way to the grand ballroom for the ball. The royal family was introduced and then the tsar and tsarina entered. They danced the first dance together and then the royal family was invited to dance with their partners. The guests would be invited to dance in the next song.

shield_maiden:

Svalin and Tryggvi just landed on the small lawn in the back of the Avengers Mansion. Svalin had been getting antsy and decided to take Tryggvi out for a flight around New York. They were both feeling too confined. At least at the Defenders compound there was room to move around and a nice ocean breeze. There were too many tall buildings in New York and they were all too close.

Svalin dismounted and immediately removed the saddle. She let it fall on the ground and then removed the bridle. She smiled and lightly rubbed Tryggvi's nose before placing a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you, my friend. 'Twas a most enjoyable flight."

redheadspy:

Natasha greeted her birthday like she spent every morning for the past few months, in the bathroom with morning sickness. Another few weeks and it should abate, but for now it was pure hell. She crawled back into bed and pulled the covers over her head for another hour or two before getting up for the day.

There was a beeline for coffee, two cups since it was her birthday after all, and a light breakfast. Afterward she caught up on email. There was an email from Fury wishing her a happy birthday and ones from the kids as well. Misha and Anya were off in Tahiti, James was in school and Eliza was in New Orleans. It was weird not having all of them around on her birthday, but right now she could use the quiet instead of the fuss. Tomorrow Misha and Anya would be home from their vacation and Natasha had made reservations for the family for dinner tomorrow night.

Today she was going to take it easy. Which of course meant a trip to the spa and some shopping. It was her gift to herself and a way to prepare herself for whatever surprise her husband was going to spring on her. Life with Tony was never dull. She showered and headed out for some pampering and some shopping.

iron_hide:

Justin Rhodes sits in the lobby and waits to be called. He's not sure what he's doing here, but something in him figures it's better to speak to Virigina Potts now rather than waiting for the stars to align for them to meet up. So he dressed in one of the suits his new sister bought for him and went to her office to make an appointment. That was Thursday, after his date with Christina.

Now, it was Monday morning, and he was here to visit his mother on the job. He hoped she was as inviting as Rhodey had been. Or that she didn't hate the idea of having an adult son from another dimension. He'd take either one.

"Mr. Rhodes, Miss Potts will see you now." the receptionist says.

"Thank you. " he says, rising from his chair. He takes a deep breath, and hopes that his heart doesn't choose to give out any time in the next half-hour, and walks toward the doors.

redheadspy:

The sun was just coming up and Natasha had been awake for an hour already. She sat outside on the terrace enjoying the warm morning. It had to be in the fifties already, a rarity for New York at this time of the year, and she was going to enjoy every moment of it.

She sipped her ginger tea as she leafed through papers and old S.H.I.E.L.D. files. Natasha wasn't a morning person per se, but it was hard to go back to sleep after spending a good half hour leaning over the toilet and puking her guts out. Morning sickness just plain sucked and was one of the more unpleasant things about pregnancy. The other unpleasant things would come in a few months and Natasha was not looking forward to them.

She tossed the file in her hand on the table next to the plate of crackers. Thoughts of him had been nagging at her since she first saw the other James Buchanan Barnes in Cambridge. This world's James had to be out there somewhere, but where was the question. Natasha had searched S.H.I.E.L.D. files, which were the ones laying on the table, and she had even broken into old KGB files looking for any mention of him. Nothing she didn't already know. The last time he had been spotted alive was back in the 1950s when she had last seen him.

Where could he be? He wasn't dead, or at least her gut told her he wasn't dead. Her gut had never led her wrong before. She had to find him and she couldn't ask for help until she had more information.

Natasha rubbed her eyes and took another sip of tea. Dammit she wanted coffee in the worst way. The ginger tea helped settle her stomach, which would not handle coffee this soon after waking up. In another hour or so she could handle her one allowed cup of Heaven in a cup. Until then it was tea and crackers.

Tea was a pregnancy thing for her. On occasion she had a cup, but it was only during pregnancy when she actually drank it on a regular basis. Decaff to boot. Decaff tea and no vodka in almost a year. There were moments when she felt like different person. Someone else who acted like her and who was in her body. Definitely not her. Gone was the Black Widow and in her place was a housewife. It was surreal.

The last time she had felt remotely this strange was when she swapped faces with Yelena to stop the sale of nuclear weapons. At least during that time she was possibly preventing World War III, not playing human incubator. Time had changed, she had changed. For the better, at least she thought.

She took another sip of tea and then glanced at the watch. The household would be waking soon. Tony and Anya to go to work. James to go to school. They had settled into a predictable routine and Natasha found herself okay with that. She hated being predictable, but routine and feeling comfortable made them feel more like a family and the condo feel like home.

A small smile crossed her face and she picked up another file. She'd spend the last few remaining quiet moments doing some more reading.

redheadspy:

Natasha opened her eyes to all too familiar surroundings. S.H.I.E.L.D. Medical. She had been in this place way too much lately. She was beginning to think that S.H.I.E.L.D. had a special wing just for her family. At some point in the past year and a half each of them had been in here for various things.

What the hell happened? The last thing she remembered was being in Boston and looking for Tony with...James? Had it really been him? Had she imagined talking to him? She remembered him and Kraven of all people. Wasn't he supposed to be dead?

If only she could shake this fuzzy feeling she had in her head she'd be able to think and remember what happened. She remembered the bistro and looking for Tony and then the scuffle. She remembered a knife catching her in the shoulder. She touched it, but it seemed to be healed. What the hell happened and how long had she been out?

She had to get out of here and get some answers.

swashbuckler:

Steve was just a little worried.  He hadn't heard from Anya in a couple days, either by phone or e-mail.  He knew she sometimes ignored both, but...

Something in his gut, what his dad jokingly called "Hawkeye senses", though, was nagging at him.  And since the last time anything with Anya had happened it had nearly sent Toni into a panic, calling her was out.

So he was going to have to either talk to Anya's dad (scary) or her mom (more scary).

He picked up the phone and dialed the Stark's number.

nextgen_misc:

A text came in to Tony's phone from his daughter's phone.

Up for lunch? Meet me at my apartment at 1. I'll make arrangements for a place here in Cambridge. It's for a surprise for Mom. Love, Anya.

redheadspy:

Natasha was in the kitchen and opening the boxes that had been delivered earlier in the day. She had been too tired earlier to do it and she wanted to get this stuff unpacked before she forgot about it. A pregnancy meant shopping and she had been doing just that. Babies need a lot of things and Natasha did love shopping.

The Internet was a wonderful thing and made that shopping all that much easier. She had been extremely tired lately and the idea of going out and dealing with people wasn't that appealing. The urge to shoot someone would be too great to resist. It was easier to buy online and have it delivered.

She looked at the clock. It was almost eight pm. Tony should be home soon. She hoped. Since getting the company back, he had spent more time at the office than he had at home. Natasha didn't mind. She was tired and cranky and he was a workaholic. It worked out.

She continued to unpack the boxes.

Natasha was mildly surprised her husband hadn't picked up on any of the clues about her condition. Normally her husband was a step ahead of everyone else, but with all that was going on with the company, she wasn't surprised he was a bit distracted. Tonight. She'd tell him tonight. Then came the hard part. Telling the kids.

stark_inc:

Time for a simple anniversary trip. Tasha will come home to a plane ticket and passport with a note.

Let's see what trouble we can get into.  By the time you read this, I'll be somewhere in Russia.  You get to discover where.  If all goes well for me in 5 hours I will be somewhere else and have left you a clue where I am.  If you find me - well, you'll have to figure out what to do with me.

It was this or sky diving - though I'm not eliminating skydiving as a possibility yet.  Happy anniversary, tsarnia.

Love,
Tony

PS:  You know you love me for the surprises.

nextgen_adult:

Margaret Donovan-Stark wasn't a stupid woman and she wasn't a fool. She knew that there were always people out to take her position, this time it was family who was after her position. Which was to be expected.

She had been watching the stocks closely and was concerned about this Scion company. They had been buying as much stock as possible and if for some reason they teamed up with her brother...well Margaret would be prepared. Contingency plans were always necessary when someone was trying to take you down.

It was time to initiate those contingency plans just in case. She always covered her ass and she always had a few plans for the future. She began the necessary file transfers.

nextgen_parent:

Thor heads for New York ahead of Syd and Simon. They'll be along, possibly with the Defenders in tow, to help get Scion's New York offices arranged to their liking. When they get there and examine the books, they should find out precisely how much they're being paid for their work. He's fairly sure, at the least, that its a considerable promotion from the babysitting duties.
He heads for Tony's home, hoping to catch him there, and with some privacy.

nextgen_holiday:

The grand ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel on 57 East 57th street was festively decorated for the holidays. A series of lit candles on every table gave off warm light and the dulcet tones of a jazz ensemble filled the room.

People, the upper elite of New York society, Hollywood celebrities, musicians, politicians and New York’s own superheroes moved around the room. People sat at tables and talked, while some moved gracefully around the large dance floor.

Tables loaded with unwrapped and unopened toys lined one wall and at one end stood a very large decorated Christmas tree. Wrapped presents sat under the tree, but they were just empty boxes wrapped for decoration. Mistletoe hung from the ceiling near the tree and people stopped to kiss.

The air was light and the mood happy and festive.

nextgen_holiday:

“We need to be more grateful. I think there is no true character without gratitude. It is one of the marks of a real strong character to have a feeling of thanksgiving and gratitude for blessings. We need more of that spirit in our homes, in our daily associations, in the church, everywhere. It doesn't cost anything, and it is so easy to cultivate.” - Ezra Taft Benson

In America today is a day for being thankful for the things in people's lives. Today was a day to celebrate family, friends, prosperity and health with food, family and friends. It is a time to reflect on what is important us and to recognize the gratitude we hold for having those things in our lives.

anyastark:

Dad's birthday. Probably one of the few days of the year Anya never looked forward to. She loved spending time with her father and loved celebrating his birthday, but the man was IMPOSSIBLE to get gifts for. What did you get the man who has everything and if he did't have it he probably didn't want it in the first place? It was a dilemma she faced three times a year; dad's birthday, father's day and Christmas.

This year had proven extremely difficult. Anya would swear it got harder each time she had to get him something.

This year it had been a group effort. The kids, all four of them, worked together and got him something. It was sappy and a bit cheesy, just the type of thing Dad ate up.

Lunch had been scheduled and the location given to them by Mom. Informal and relaxed and best of all, burgers! It was the one food the whole family could agree on without arguments.

Anya was the first to arrive at DBGB Kitchen and Bar on 299 Bowery between Hudson and 1st. It had some of the best burgers in the city and it was the perfect place for a Romanov-Stark lunch.

discardedheir:

The morning of Saturday, November 14 dawned. With the whole Fantastic Four family there, the chairs and a few minor decorations for the empty 29th floor of the Baxter building were easily set up. The rest of the guests would be arriving soon, Cassandra's friends among the Avengers.

Jennifer Walters had been kind enough to recommend the judge. Their license was in order. The bride was with the maid of honor and there was no word of any problems at the moment.

By noon, Cassandra would be his, officially. Scotty, too, to an extent.
If any outsider prevented that, Kristoff was not absolutely certain he could keep himself from ...a display of excessively bad manners.

stark_inc:

Wife is out shopping so she won't try to help.  The condo is free of teenagers and Tony Stark is restless.  Anya's crash was a wake-up call.  It's not that he was ignoring her legacy.  It's just that he had been convinced by his loving family that this time he should heal up from his burns rather then work himself to the brink before pulling back.

Pepper is bringing the paperwork.  They've been here before, all right, but this time, it's not about him.  It's not about safeguarding what's in the vaults, or some insane supervillian with a scheme.  No.  this time it's about family - sothing he never thought he'd give a damn about during all those other times.  This is why he's more dangerous today then he's ever been.

anyastark:

Anya sat on the metal guardrail alongside route 80 and looked up at the stars. They were so many of them and they were so bright out here in…she didn’t even know where the hell here was. It could be Pennsylvania or even Ohio for that matter. Either way, it was the middle of fucking nowhere at a few minutes after three in the morning. What the hell was she doing? Had she finally lost her mind?

The worst part about it all? She wasn’t even sure exactly how she got out here. The past few hours were a blur thanks to little sleep and vodka.

She remembered hiding away in the lab and wanting to be alone, but people were constantly knocking on the door. She knew they cared and were concerned after her recent run in with Temujin, but she didn’t want to talk to anyone. She just wanted to be left alone.

She slept a little, but when she did the nightmares came rushing back. The same nightmares that had plagued her for the past year were back in full force. They had subsided a bit since her last run in with Temujin, but seeing him again made them as bad as they ever were.

She tried to do school work or write code, but she couldn’t focus. Lack of sleep, the vodka she drank to help her get what little sleep she did get, and…why the hell did she open that cabinet? Once she laid her eyes on that suit of armor the anger spiked and things became blurry. She vaguely remembered holding the helmet in her hands a few moments before throwing it into one of the wall displays. There was a shower of sparks and the smell of ozone filled the lab.

The next thing she knew she was in her car and racing through the city. She had to get out of there. Get away from him and everyone else.

She remembered leaving the city and crossing into New Jersey. Between the vodka from earlier and the speed at which she was driving, New Jersey along route 80 was a dark blur. At some point she had to have crossed into Pennsylvania. She didn’t know when it happened, only that it did. There may have been a tollbooth but the details were very fuzzy.

The car sped along as if the Devil himself was chasing it. But the Devil was chasing her and he would never stop. He would always be there and would always be coming for her. Him and the rest of the demons and she had to try to get away from all of them.

The self-destructive Stark genes had finally expressed themselves and she acted without thinking. No sleep, vodka and fast speeds. It was a bad combination and one that would catch up to her quickly enough. She didn’t see the deer until it had run in front of her car. Metal slammed into flesh and bone and tires screeched on the pavement of the highway.

The air bag felt cool against her cheek after it had deployed. That side of her face was still swollen from where Temujin had hit her and it hurt despite the cool feeling of the air bag. The doctors had said it would take some time for the swelling in her cheek to go down and even longer for the bones to mend. Warm liquid ran down the side of her face from her temple and she knew she had been hit by a piece of glass from the windshield when the deer’s antlers had gone through it.

Somehow she managed to open the door and climb out of the car. She stumbled over to the guardrail and sat down. That’s where she was now. Sitting alongside the highway in the middle of nowhere looking up at the stars.

She should call someone. The car wasn’t in any shape to drive, hell, she wasn’t in any shape to drive and she sure in hell wasn’t going to accept a ride from the few tractor-trailers that had pulled over to see if she was all right and to offer assistance. They looked offended when she yelled at them to go away. She imagined at least one called emergency services and it wouldn’t be too long for the cops and ambulance to get here. While it had been a few hours since her last drink, Anya was sure her blood alcohol level was still past the legal limit. She could swear she polished off a full bottle of vodka earlier.

At this point she honestly didn’t care anymore. The self-destruct button had been pressed awhile ago; it had merely been on a delayed timer and hadn’t gone off until now. And it had gone off in a grand fashion to boot. Starks never did anything halfway.

She knew she had to call someone. She knew she should call the one person who would understand her bout of stupidity and self-destructiveness. The delay in calling wasn’t because she thought he’d be mad, she knew he wouldn’t, but she knew he’d be disappointed and that was much worse than being mad. Much worse. Anya hated disappointing her father.

What was she doing? She knew better than this. She knew she couldn’t just run away like this. Actions had consequences and sometimes one paid the consequences for a very long time after something happened. It was similar to Newton’s third law in physics. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

Seeing Doc Samson had helped somewhat. He was someone she wasn’t related to and to whom she could talk to. Every time she thought she was making some progress, Temujin would show his face and she was right back where she was when she first woke up in S.H.I.E.L.D. after she had been rescued from his clutches.

The sounds of sirens could be heard in the distance. They’d be here soon. It was time to make a phone call before they reached her.

She took a deep breath and dialed a number.