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Part 3 of Frozen to the Marrow
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The Cream of the Crop
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2020-03-26
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2021-02-04
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27/27
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Consequences

Chapter 20: 44 is young!

Summary:

It's Tony's first birthday with the team, who do their best to give the team's shellhead a great party

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Rose woke up to Hedwig preening her hair, perched on the pillow.

"Morning, Hed" she sleepily greeted, petting her owl as she snuggled to her neck, chirping softly. Out of nowhere, Rogue joined in, perching on her bare shoulder and preening her loose waves and cheek

Rose laughed and picking Rogue, settled on a sitting position.

"Well, this morning just started right" she chuckled, placing Rogue on her bed and stretching. She tied her hair in a bun and entered the bathroom, as per her routine. After a nice shower, she changed into a green loose crop top and a pair of high waisted cropped blue jeans.

By the time she went downstairs, Steve was returning from his run. They exchanged smiles and "Good Morning"s

With a relieved sigh, she entered the kitchen where the coffee was already made. She looked at Bruce, who was probably on his second cup and grinned

"Good Morning, Brucie, Nat"

"Morning" Nat murmured, head resting on her arm over the kitchen island.

"Good Morning Rosie" Bruce smiled, looking over the newspaper

She poured herself a cup of coffee and pulled out some books from one of the cabinets and settled down. Hera and Zeus were lounging at the corner of the room

Rose looked up when she saw her birds landing next to her, Rouge on her shoulder and Hedwig next to her coffee cup. Hedwig chirped, tapping on her coffee mug while Rouge nibbled on her ear

"You are not going for a hunt?" Rose asked softly

Hedwig gave her a look as if saying-"We are hungry. Food now!"

"Right" Rose muttered

She fetched the birds feed and poured some in a bowl for her bird. She picked Arrow from the birdhouse and placed him to eat. While hunting, Hedwig and Rouge always made sure to feed Arrow, who was now starting to learn to fly.

Steve and Thor came down. Steve got himself a mug of coffee and Thor just pulled some pop tarts. How he could eat one empty stomach first thing in the morning was a mystery to everyone.

Rouge finished early and settled on her favorite perch-Rose's shoulder, resuming to preen the rest of her hair.

Mia entered last, showered and dressed, dragging a sleepy Clint with her. Mia got coffee for them both as Clint settled next to Nat. The moment he noticed Rogue, his face turned sour and he frowned.

In return, Rouge's face turned passive and he actually showed the archer his tongue, going back to his original business of making sure Rose was presentable. Rose was oblivious to the exchange, while those who witnessed chuckled at that. It was no secret that Rouge and Clint weren't the best of friends.

"Let it go" Nat muttered

Clint frowned lessened a little before he turned to Rose

"Are you seriously doing work at 7 in the morning?" he asked

"I'm on leave for two days" she replied, sipping on her coffee "and this ain't work"

Nat reached and lifted the book "Cookbook?" she let it drop "Since when?"

Rose shrugged "You both are still covering my chores"

that made both the spies mentally wince. another week, that their bet with Rose would end.

"Then why are you looking for cakes?" Clint asked, peeking into the book "and birthday cakes at that? Is someone's birthday coming?"

Rose stopped and looked at them all as if they all had two heads. The mention of birthday had grabbed everyone's attention to the conversation.

"You are telling me you have no idea about it?" she asked

"Uh..No" Steve answered, "Who's birthday is coming?"

Rose blinked twice "Are you serious?"

"Hey, you can't expect us to remember everyone's birthday" Clint defended

Rose gave him a poker face "7 January" then turned to Nat "22 November" she faced Steve "4 July" then Bruce "18 December. Sorry Thor, I don't know your birthday"

" Fear not, Rose. Tis alright. Birth anniversaries of Asgardians cannot be calculated in Midgardian years" Thor smiled

"Correct me if I'm wrong" she looked at others

"You memorized all our birthdays?" Bruce asked

"Well, I make it my business to know my friends' birthdays" Rose shrugged

"What about her?" Steve asked, gesturing to Mia

"'Her' is sitting right here, Cap" Mia replied calmly, still in her pre-coffee stage "You can ask her. I promise, she doesn't bite"

They all chuckled while Steve flashed her an apologetic smile

"Sorry, Mia"

"19 September" she replied with a shrug

"So, now that we established everyone's birthday, whose birth anniversary is approaching?" Thor asked

"Approaching? It's today." Rose replied "Today's dad's birthday"

"What?" Bruce blinked, newspaper lowered

"Yeah" she nodded and then looked at Nat "I'm surprised you forgot, Nat"

Nat groaned when she remembered she was there was Tony's supposed 'last' birthday after the Palladium poisoning.

"Slipped" Nat replied

"So, where's Tony?" Steve asked, "Sleeping?"

"Dad's not here. I asked him to check over the LA branch office with Pep. He left yesterday and would be arriving today later in the evening. Seriously, I can't plan his birthday with him around"

"there's going to be a party?" Bruce asked

"Yes" Rose deadpanned, going back to her book

"Not one of those wild parties any of you might have read in tabloids" Mia explained "It's going to be simple and only family and friends"

"Okay, I never thought I'd hear the word simple associated with Tony" Clint snorted "How can we help?"

Rose raised her head and looked at them. She often forgot she was a part of a team now. But can you blame her? Being a lone wolf for years with only Tony, Mia, and a selected few's support, she was not used to having people around her like the Avengers.

"Right" she muttered, "Well, this is what we can do..."


The team had decided to use one of the training rooms for the party. Mia helped Steve and Thor move some furniture. Nat and Bruce had started making a list of everything they'd need. Rose was still deep into the cookbook.

Honestly, it didn't use to be so much of a headache, but now it was. Mostly because she'd made almost all the easy and good cakes and the rest needed a bit of hard work. and it was now starting to get on her nerves

"I think chocolate one would be nice"

Rose looked through her lashes at Clint, who was looking into the book

"Or maybe butterscotch. No, wait, a fruit cake, but no, that's boring. Ooh, how about red-velvet or-"

"Clint" she started slowly

"Got it!" he snapped his fingers with a grin "Chocolate vanilla with strawberry"

He looked down at her when she shot him a bored look

"Do shut up"

Clint mockingly gasped and clutched his chest

"You didn't just say that to me"

Rose gave him a perfect poker face

"I just did" and she went back to the book

But Clint, being Clint, didn't drop it

"Uh...you need any help with baking?"

Across the room, the other Avengers sneaked glances at the pair

"Should we rescue him?" Thor asked

"Nah," Nat muttered, not looking up from the paper "It's too entertaining to watch"

Mia snickered and that caused others, who were holding it back to snicker as well

Rose fixed him a nice and firm poker face

"I've been baking dad's birthday cake for the last 11 years. I can bake a cake and I can do it fine by myself. thank you. I got the cake, you get other stuff"

Clint, realizing that he was not accepted any more for this certain conversation, raised his hands in surrender and backed off

"Had your fun?" Nat asked

"Shut it" Clint muttered

"Sometimes, Clint, I think you do it on purpose" Steve shook his head, going back to moving the huge table for snacks


By the afternoon, most things were planned. Pieces of Furniture were moved, decorations were placed with exact precision under Rose's strict gaze. Which brought a smile to all their faces

Thor, Mia, and Steve fist-bumped, and Nat and Bruce gave each other nods. Clint was grinning all by himself and Rose gave it a final nod of approval

"Wow. It looks great"

The seven turned around and spotted Rhodey standing at the doorway, a bag in his hands

"Hey Uncle Rhodey" Rose grinned as he made his way to the team

"Hey baby girl" Rhodey gave her a half hug and kissed her head

"Hi" Mia shot him a small wave and Rhodey returned a nod with a smile

He greeted others and then looked around

"I've to say, this looks way better than I had planned out" Rhodey grinned

"These guys made it happen" Rose replied, looking at the team, who all had a look of relief and satisfaction on their face

"Everything else planned?" he asked

"Snacks, drinks will be here shortly" Nat replied

"DJ will get here before the party" Clint added

Rhodey nodded but they stopped. Was it all?

"what about gifts?" Rhodey asked

Only people who grinned were Mia, Bruce, and Thor

"When did you get him gifts?" Nat asked Bruce

"I had been saving some for a while now for Tony's birthday" Bruce shrugged

"Aye," Thor nodded "I had brought some finest quality of Asgardian tech for Stark to tinker but never got a chance to give it to him. Now I believe there couldn't be a better occasion than today"

"I brought it yesterday" Mia deadpanned with a shrug

"So, that leaves the four of us?" Steve asked, looking at Nat, Clint, and Rose

"Oh, I got him a gift already. It's three of you" Rose said, "Well, I'm off to bake the birthday cake."

"Hey, I got some stuff in my car for the party. Think you guys can help?" Rhodey asked

"Certainly, Friend of Stark" Thor nodded

"and for the last time, my name's Rhodey, Thor!"


Rose bit her lip as she kept the cake batter in the oven to bake while she made the red frosting. the original recipe had to be changed a little since it had white frosting and strawberries in it. But Pepper was allergic to strawberries and white was not Tony's color.

She exhaled loudly when she finished the mixture and placing them in the oven, she backed a little brushing the hair from her face. Hera trotted to her and jumped, keeping her front paws on top of the counter as she looked at bowls of frosting and barked at Rose

"Not for you, Hera" Rose grinned, scratching Hera's head "that's for dad"

she picked one of Hera's toy bones and gave it to her, after which she left to her corner where a small fight with Zeus regarding the ownership of the toy started but Rose paid it no mind. Bigger things to worry about right now, like the birthday cake.

Hedwig perched on her shoulder and Rose shot her a smile

"Fingers crossed"

Hedwig bobbed her head and nibbled her ear. she stopped when they both heard the elevator's trademark ding and Steve stepped out

"Hey" she smiled

"Hi" Steve sat on the kitchen stool and looked at her "I need your help"

"Ask away, Captain" she turned to face him, leaning on the island

"Any idea what I can get Tony?"

Rose chuckled

"Rather than buying him some expensive shit from the store, gift him something handmade."

"something handmade?" Steve repeated

"Hmm-mm" Rose nodded "Dad's a sucker for those. Even if you something from the store you want to gift him, customize it. Add a bit of your touch. Some DIY stuff"

Steve nodded though he didn't know what 'DIY' was. He might have to ask JARVIS later

"What did you get him?"

Rose scoffed with a laugh "Oh no. I'm not telling you" she giggled "You'll see tonight"

Steve chuckled "Alright, then" he nodded "By the way, you got some frosting here" he pointed at her cheek

Rose followed his directions and rubbed it off and smiled at him

"Good?"

"Yeah. Good" Steve smiled and left. Right now, he had a gift to think for Tony


Rose checked the list one last time before she realized another thing and dashed off across the communal to the elevator

"Is it only me or is Rose putting a lot of effort into Tony's birthday?" Bruce asked

"Not just you" Nat replied. She knew Tony meant a great deal to her but Rose was being overly paranoid for some reason

"Tony's birthday always means a great deal to her," Rhodey replied, going through the phone. he chuckled "Should've seen her when she was a teen. She's much better right now"

Steve looked at Mia "who all are coming?"

"Us, Pepper and Happy. Fleur, George, Ron and Angie" Mia replied

"Okay, Fleur we know. Angie?" Clint asked

"George's wife" Mia replied looking at him "and a few kids"

"Kids?" Bruce froze

Mia looked at him with a calculating gaze "you'll be fine, Bruce. No need to panic"

"I'm not sure about it, Mia"

"Hey," Nat softly began "Last time you lost control was a long while ago. It's going to be fine. and we all are here to watch your back"

Bruce gave her and others a soft smile "Thanks, guys"

"No problem" Clint winked when his phone buzzed

"Who's it?" Thor asked

"Some stuff I ordered is here. I should get it" and he left

"I hope you all got gifts for Tony" Rhodey looked at the lot

the smirks and knowing-look on their faces was enough response

And it was then Rose returned and stumbled on the couch, huffing tiredly

"How long before Dad gets home, J?"

"Sir would be back in 3 hours and 27 minutes"

"Great" she exhaled "Let me know when it reaches the 1-hour mark"

"You require some rest" Thor looked at her "You've been working very hard"

"Just want the day to be perfect for my old man" she tiredly grinned at the god

"It's perfect" Rhodey assured her

"I sure hope so" Rose muttered and sighed

"Miss, the Weasleys are here" JARVIS chimed in

"They are a tad bit early" Mia looked at Rose

"I asked them to," Rose replied

The elevator chimed open and soon there were shrieks of

"Aunty Rose!"

Before a horde of kids dogpiled on her

Steve and others barely managed to move away before the kids launched themselves at their aunty Rose. He didn't know she had so many nieces and nephews.

"Oh my..." Rose laughed, panting slightly "Can you let me breathe?"

"Get off her. Let your aunt breathe" came a beautiful voice that had a distinct french accent

When he looked at the speaker, he felt his throat dry as he gulped. The woman was gorgeous, breathtakingly so. Her blonde hair seemed like it was sun-kissed, it almost had a white glow. Her eyes were the bluest he had seen. But despite being able to give any supermodel in the world a run for their money very easily, she didn't seem as appealing to him as Rose did since the day he had met her.

"Thanks, Fleur" Rose coughed as the kids got off her

Something told him that had something to do with it.

Mia chuckled slightly before she frowned

"And I suddenly turned invisible, didn't I?"

Fleur, Ron, George and the second woman, who had to be Angie, laughed as the children ran to hug Mia as well

"Well, it's been quite a time" George grinned as he and Steve shook hands with a grin

"You can say that" Steve chuckled back

"This is Angelina, my wife" George introduced

"Hullo" she smiled "It's a pleasure to meet you all"

"Pleasure's all ours" Nat smiled, shaking her hand

"Fleur Weasley" Fleur introduced

Nat gave a short nod "Natasha. And this is rest of the team-Steve, Thor, Bruce, and Rhodey"

"Hey Rhodey" Ron greeted the man and gave him half a hug

"You all know him," Bruce said.

"Sure" Angelina replied "We know him as well as we know Tony"

Rhodey grinned and gave them all little hugs

"Lady Mia, would you be introducing your nieces and nephews?" he asked with a grin. Thor was very easy going with kids and he liked their company

Mia looked at thor and smiled. She managed to get a slight glance at Ron, who gave her a very subtle nod

"Why of course" she replied "This is Victoire, Dominique, Molly, Fred, and Edward"

Victoire and Dominique(the youngest), both had beautiful blonde her and bluest eyes. And since red hair was Weasley trademark, it wasn't hard to tell that they were Fleur's kids. Molly was a bit shy and supported dark red hair, hazel eyes, and freckles. Fred had a bit of a darker complexion and dark eyes, being George and Angelina's kid. And finally, Edward(the oldest) had darkest red hair, a rich ruby shade, and blueish-green eyes.

"It's lovely meeting you all" Thor smiled

"Whoa" Fred was the first to speak, eyes wide in awe "You are huge!"

"Fred!" Angelina quickly chastised while Thor and many laughed

"Why thank you, young Fred" Thor chuckled, ruffling his dark hair, which made the young kid chuckle

"Yeah, Fred won't be the first kid to comment on Thor's massive size" Nat added

"Makes me wonder what will happen should they meet the Hulk," Thor thought out loud

"Oh no. That's not happening" Bruce quickly added

"I just wondered, Banner" Thor counter-argued

"Where's the rest of the fam?" Rose asked, scooting over as they all settled in the seating area "And Charlie didn't come? Come on!"

"Charlie said he was sorry for bailing at the last moment and he'd make it up to you and Tony when he gets back from his recent assignment" Ron answered

"He better" Rose frowned, hugging a pillow "Louis? My cutest nephew?"

Fleur chuckled, rather in an elegant way "Bill just got back from Egypt and you know how he gets when he returns home. Percy was rather busy and Audrey didn't want to be alone, so she sent Molly with us. She's actually with Bill and Louis"

"when is Audrey due?" Mia asked, struggling to keep hold of all the kids. Thor swooped in and gathered Dominique, Edward, and Fred in his arms, making them laugh.

"August end" Angelina answered

"I can't wait to see Percy fainting again" George laughed and at the confused looks of others, he chuckled "Our older brother Percy fainted when Molly was being delivered."

"Really?" Rhodey asked "I thought it was like an urban legend or something. Men fainting during deliveries"

"It happened. In fact, George almost lost it when Fred was born" Angelina chuckled

"did not!"

"sure, love" Angeline patted his arm "We all believe it"

George frowned and looked at Rose "Back me up?!"

Rose blinked "You did almost faint. Why would I back you up?"

George looked at Ron who raised his hands in surrender

"don't even look at me, mate. Nuh-uh"

"Traitors" George muttered with a mock glare

The kids suddenly laughed at something Thor had told them, which got all their attention.

Steve, finally deciding to introduce himself, walked to the kids and crouched to their eye level

"I'm Steve. It's nice to meet you all" he smiled

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Steve" Molly shyly replied

"Hi, Mr. Steve" Victoire added

"Steve is fine" he smiled before he noticed Edward's gobsmacked look directed at him

"Edward?" he asked

"Y-Y-You are Captain America!" he blurted which took him back

Steve grew uncomfortable under the sudden attention he received after the statement. He turned around and looked at the guests "I didn't know the magical world knew of Avengers"

Mia had told them once that since tech and magic don't work together, the two worlds remained separate, most of the time. Even if Rose introduced special tech to the magical world, they were not very popular and old generations remained wary of it

"Oh you lot are quite popular" Ron assured him "Fighting an alien invasion does garner some attention"

"Rose, hey" George began, quickly changing the topic "Where do we put our gifts?"

"Yeah, about that" Rose quickly stood up "Give them to me"

three wrapped gifts made it to her arms. Rose smiled and looked at his direction

"Edward," she called instead "Wanna help?"

Edward, broken off his stupor nodded, quietly got off Thor's lap, and ran off after her. She gave him the lightest gift and the two made their way downstairs

Rose and Edward made their way to the party room, which opened and they placed the gifts with the others. as soon as the gifts were down, Edward hugged her tight

Rose chuckled and lifted him, settling him in her arms

"Missed me?"

"Too very much" Teddy replied and hugged her, making her chuckle

"I missed you too, baby" she smiled, planting a kiss on his head, enjoying every single second of getting to hold her son in her arms.

"Why can't you tell them?" he softly asked

"Didn't Uncle Ron tell you?" she asked, settling on a bean bag

"He said that it was a game and if I called you mum, you'd lose. I don't want you to lose" he whispered back and Rose almost groaned. Ron sucked at this. She shouldn't have given that task to him of all people

"Really?" she asked

Teddy pulled and looked at her as he settled on her lap

"But I'm a big boy and I know he's lying. Why would he lie to me, Mum?"

Rose smiled, running her hands through Teddy's hair as it turned black under her touch-his real hair color.

She exhaled and looked at him, playing with his hair

"You know everyone has a secret treasure?"

Teddy nodded

"And what do you do when you have a secret treasure?"

Teddy bit his lip before he slowly answered "Keep it a secret so thieves won't steal it"

Rose nodded with a hum "That's right. But it's not just thieves who'll steal. Anyone who sees the treasure and wants it will steal it. And you, my little prince charming, are my secret treasure. Do you think we should tell them about you?"

Teddy made a thinking face "But what if someone hears you telling them?"

"Well, then we'd have to kill them"

the mother-son duo jumped at the sudden voice. The room was supposed to be empty!

they looked over as Clint rose from behind the newly set Music system, some tools in his hands

Teddy quickly scooted closer to his mother, and Rose didn't even blink

"The heck, Clint?" she frowned "How did you raise your own kids?"

"Laura did most of the work" he shrugged with an easy smile, crouching to their level, finally sitting on the floor next to them

"I'm Clint" Clint extended his hand "But of course, you can call me Uncle Clint"

"What do we do when someone introduces themself?" Rose softly asked

Teddy looked at rose before he shook Clint's hand

"I'm Edward. But everyone calls me Teddy"

"You are cute, teddy" Clint chuckled "Definitely got that from your mom"

Teddy blushed and pressed his face into Rose's neck, making the two laugh

"but he heard, mum" he whispered. Not really whispered since Clint also heard it

Clint and she shared a look

"Teddy"

he pulled and looked at Rose

"Well, Clint here also has a secret treasure"

"He does?" Teddy asked

"Oh yes, I do" Clint nodded "and you probably met them. Cooper and Lila"

Teddy nodded "I like them. they are nice. Cooper is smart and Lila's pretty"

Rose's eyes widened a little and she looked at Clint

"Did your son just..." he looked at her

For some reason, obvious ones, of course, reminded Rose of when Tony had turned into a kid and saw Pepper for the first time. Logically she blamed Tony for Teddy's suave personality

"He's a kid" she shrugged back before looking at Teddy "So, Cooper and Lila are Clint's children."

"And just like we have to keep you a secret" Clint began "Cooper and Lila need to be a secret too"

Teddy nodded with a proud smile "I can do that"

"I know, love" Rose placed a small smile on his head "We should head back"

Rose and Clint shared a look as they headed back upstairs


Upstairs was a whole other scenario. From the looks of it, the young generation had the Avengers and the pups wrapped around their very tiny fingers. Even Natasha and Bruce, who looked rather comfy around children at the moment.

Clint had quickly joined them, where Nat took it upon herself to introduce the kids to him. The smile on her face almost made Rose's heart clench. She was aware of the so-called 'Graduation Ceremony' of the Red-Room. No matter what the world or Nat herself said, she knew that if possible, Natasha would have been a great mother.

she approached her family and sat next to Fleur. Zeus jumped on the couch and cuddled to her, stuffing his head into her stomach until she absent-mindedly started scratching his favorite spots

"Teddy didn't slip, did he?" Fleur softly asked, voice audible to only those in her close proximity

"He didn't. But," Rose turned to glare at Ron "You suck"

"I explained him in the best possible way I could" Ron defended

"I'll repeat. You suck" Rose scoffed

"I agree" George nodded "You suck, Ron"

Ron, being very mature just tongue-teased them.

The rest of the tours passed with Thor telling the kids and by extension the team, Ron and George, about his adventures as a young prince. Even the dogs seemed very entranced with Thor's stories.

Rose was putting final touches on the cake while Fleur and Ange helped her with the rest of the food

"why is it red?" Angie raised a brow at the cake's frosting

Rose shrugged "Iron man theme"

"Didn't you do it once already?"

"Don't think dad would remember" Rose snorted before she looked at Fleur "How's the rest of the family?"

"They are fine. Bill's a little tired these days, which he mostly thinks is the old age catching up to him. I don't argue"

Angie and Rose laughed softly. Over the years, Fleur's English had gotten way better, but still held a tinge of french accent

"I just think about it. Here's my dad who still thinks that 44 is young. And there's Bill, according to whom 34 is old." Rose scoffed

"Men" Angie agreed which got a snort from the other two

"So, Rose" Flue started slightly leaning in "I have to say, you've got a fine team of people here"

"Unfortunately, credit goes to someone else" Rose humorlessly snorted

"That's not our point" Angie butted in

Rose looked at both of her sisters-in-law/friends "You both planned it"

Rose mentally groaned. She was so not ready for this conversation

"Well, it was us, Audrey and Mia," Angie replied

"Our point is that you have a very powerful team here and they support and trust you and Tony. Maybe you should return the trust" Fleur softly said

"I trust them, Fleur, with my life, my money, my father, but not with my secrets"

"Ros-" Angie began but Rose cut her

"Opinions are very fickle, Angie. Everyone is not tolerant. And for once, I do not want to experiment with this. I just want things to be the way they are right now"

Angie and Fleur exchanged a look

"You do know the best for yourself" Angie nodded

"Miss, sir would be reaching the tower in exactly 52 minutes" JARVIS thankfully butted in

that grabbed everyone's attention and they all got to finish before Tony returned. Rose finished frosting and decorating the cake while others rushed to change into some semi-formal clothing

By the time returned, the majority of the food was moved to the party room. She did a once over at the kitchen and nodding to herself, headed downstairs

Clint was giving the music system a dry run. Bruce and Thor were on babysitting duty to make sure the kids won't disturb anything. How did those two men end up being nannies was something Rose would like to know.

Rose made it over to Nat

"So?"

"Every thing's spot on, Rose. Stop worrying" Nat replied. Rose shot her a tight nod as she gave Nat a once over. She was wearing a black slip dress that came to her knees with a sheer printed crop top over that. With that, she paired some plain black heeled sandals and silver-black studs.

"Oh good, great" Rose breathed, running a hand through her hair.

"Are those new tattoos?"

Rose turned and looked at Ron, who was staring at her waist. The olive-green jumpsuit she was wearing had cut-outs on the sides and her rib-area was quite visible.

Ever since the reveal, Rose had decided to not wear glamor around the house. There was no point in hiding the tattoos anymore. And Weasleys(the majority of them) were aware of her inks

"Uh..yeah" Rose nodded, looking at the wolf on her left rib side

"You got a wolf tattooed?" George scoffed "Couldn't be more obvious, could you be?"

Rose shrugged "this was a long time pending"

"Does that mean something?" Thor asked, "To get a wolf tattooed on your torso?"

"It's more of an inside joke" Ron replied with an easy-going smile before looking back at Rose "what's the quote on your wrist?"

Rose raised her arm and showed them the wrist tattoo

"Fortune does favor the bold" Fleur nodded with a look of approval

Rose smiled back and pushed her fishtail braid away as she ran a glance across the floor, shifting from one leg to another. She might be very comfortable with heels, but they still a painful contraption.

Mia was dressed in jeans, a fancy top, and heels. Then men were dressed in formal shirts and trousers/jeans with shoes.

"Sir has arrived"

"Get him here, J" Rose answered and looked at everyone

"Let the party begin" Clint grinned


"Home sweet home" Tony declared as he entered the tower with Pepper and Happy in tow.

"Welcome back, sir. I hope the trip was a success"

"Why thank you, J and yes, it was a success" Tony nodded and looked at his companions "someone's happy to see me"

Pepper rolled her eyes and Happy remained passive.

"I'm pretty sure the sentiment extends from more than JARVIS" Pepper added

He often forgot how tiring it was to do a once over at a branch, but sometimes Rose made him participate more in the company than he was willing to.

The trio made their way to the lift. Before Tony would press a button, JARVIS spoke up

"Sir, Miss has asked you to be brought on the 84th floor"

"Ooh did she plan a surprise party?" Tony asked but JARVIS didn't give any reply

He knew that Rose was going to make something grand for his birthday this year. He also knew that she sent him away on purpose. Of all the year, why would she send him just one day before his birthday? Tony mentally snorted

He knew while Rose kept a lot of things the same for his birthday, every year something new is there. The guest list would usually include their very tight-knit friend circle:-Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, Weasleys, Mia, and his grandkids. Edward might be the only one related to him, but all the children in the Weasley family grew up calling him Grandpa Tony. though he would constantly joke on how he became a Grandpa in the late 30s and how unfair it was. The elevator doors opened and,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Tony was jerked out of his thoughts at the yell

He grinned and his eyes teared a bit; though he wouldn't be caught dead admitting that

The plain room was decorated so much that he couldn't even recognize it at first glance. The banners, streamers, decoration, everything was not only amazing but also red-gold-black color themed. Everyone was there, including the team. And they all looked happy and excited for him

"It's amazing" Tony grinned. This was not what he had anticipated. This was...ten times better.

Tony walked into the room where Rhodey made him take the head chair of the table

"Happy birthday dad"

He looked as Rose brought forward his birthday cake he had no doubt she baked herself. It was almost a tradition among the two. It was a huge cake, almost three layers also with red-gold frosting. On top were three cake sparklers, a big 'Happy Birthday' topper and golden candles of two number 4s making 44. The dogs tried to lunge at the cake but Clint held them back, commanding them to sit and stay

She placed the cake in front of him

"blow the candles and makes a wish"

Tony did, but the candles reignited. No matter how many times he blew the candles, they kept on reigniting and he fixed a look at Rose

"Trick candles?"

Rose shrugged and an innocent look

Tony looked back at the candles, as, if they offended him personally by not extinguishing and blew one last time with all the, might he could conjure

and a smile made it to his face when the candles went off. But it was only short-lived as they re-ignited

"Really Tony? That's the best you could do?" Clint laughed

"Shut it, Legolas" he grunted and Rose removed the candles before they could melt wax on the cake, and the sparklers.

He picked the ribboned knife before he made a slice out of it and they all started singing the happy birthday song to him. He fed the first bite to Rose, followed by Pepper, Rhodey, Edward, and other kids

Pepper and Angie removed the cake so they could cut it and distribute amongst others with the food

"This is awesome. Honestly, one of the best birthdays I've ever had" Tony grinned looking at the team, who he knew were behind the whole event

"You deserve nothing less" Natasha replied "and to be honest, this is way better than your last birthday party I attended"

Tony scoffed "I'd hardly call that a birthday party"

"Maybe you should let Rose organize all the events. She's amazing at organizing" Bruce added

"she gets that from pepper"

Rose snorted, as the two women returned to their seats

Then came the gifts.

To be honest, Tony looked like a kid with early Christmas with all the gifts he was seeing.

"first from my youngest ones"

Edward and Victoire handed him a gift that was neatly wrapped

"Happy birthday Grandpa Tony" Victire smiled

"Happy birthday gramps" Edward grinned "this is from all of us"

"Thank you, champs" Tony opened the gift. It was a maroon stemless cup customized with the quote-'The Grandfather'. The lid looked shatterproof. Tony chuckled. he turned it around and behind were the names of all the children-Teddy, Vicky, Dom, Louis, Molly and Fred. The names he called them all by

"This is so cool" Tony grinned, scooping both the older kids into his arms and kissing their heads. After that, he placed the cup down and randomly picked one wrapped in a silver wrap and looked it around before carefully opening it. It was a box filled with prank stuff. He looked at George and Angie

"That is something I'm not going to release until Thanksgiving. You just got the first-hand exclusives"

"I can't wait to try them. Thanks, Georgie and Angie"

"If he breaks anything in the lab or office or the tower, you are gonna be in huge trouble, George" Pepper casually said but everyone got the hidden threat

"Yes, mam"

Ron and Mia gifted him a bottle of firewhiskey. Mia shot an apologetic look towards Rose who frowned at her. Right now, mia regretted asking Ron to buy a gift for Tony, 'cause she had forgotten to buy him one. Rose was going to be mad, but she was glad she didn't say anything at the moment. Firewhiskey was a strict no for Tony but then again Ron wouldn't remember it

"This is what I'm talking about, thanks guys" Tony grinned, cradling the bottle close to him "I haven't had one in ages"

That only had others laugh. He placed it down and picked another gift

Tony got a box of a watch-perfume set from Van Cleef and Arpel

"Is that Van Cleef and Arpel?" Clint asked "Damn, that things cost like...a thousand bucks"

"This is a magical edition" Fleur replied, "It had intricate runes along at the strap and both Bill and I added some extra charms o it."

"amazing. Thanks, chérie(*)" Tony grinned

While Clint said it loosely, Rose knew that that particular set must be about 8-10K USD; cheaper for Wizarding world with the exchange rate, of course

Next was a gift from Nat-which was a box full of Iron Man merch. As if Tony didn't own enough

The gift only made Tony laugh "Thanks, Romanoff. I was missing a few of them"

"You don't have a collection" Nat pointed

"True too" tony shrugged and raised the Iron man mug "This is from what I'd be drinking in from now on!"

"yeah yeah" Clint shrugged "Just move on, Stark"

"Gee, Barton. What did you get me?"

He picked Clint's gift and unwrapped it. It was some sophisticated looking technology

"Where did you get it from?" Tony asked, flipping it over

Clint shrugged "Honestly, I found it at a mission of mine about a month ago. Looked like something you'd like to get your hands on"

"Do you even know what it is?" Tony asked

"Why didn't you tell SHIELD?" Nat asked at the same moment

Clint shrugged at both the question "So, what is this?"

Rose took the tech piece and looked over it "An advanced piece of tech. One which can rival our suits"

At the current, Tony and Rose's suits were the highest tech present on Earth and known to mankind.

"where did you find it?" Steve asked

"Some African country, I guess" Clint replied, a bit shocked that he found something like that

"Well, if calibrated properly, this thing could be turned into...awesome sight-enhancing lenses," Tony said and they all could see schematics running through his head

"Later" Rose muttered handing the tech piece back to him

"Thanks, birdbrain" Tony smiled and opened other gifts

Thor also gave him some very advanced pieces of Asgardian tech. Bruce gave him some new lab equipment-a shiny new EMF reader, a spectrometer, a Geiger counter, and some tools. Steve had gifted him a bound file of sorts

"What's this?" Tony asked

"Open it" Steve smiled

Tony did. Inside on huge A1 size sheets were different drawings. Some were pencil sketches while some were colored

tony flipped through them all and smiled

"did you make all of this?" Tony asked

"Yeah" Steve smiled

"didn't know you were this good of an artist, huh" Tony chuckled "thanks, Cpasicle"

Rhodey gave him a pair of Gucci perfume set, one of Tony's regular. Pepper gifted him with a compact collection of photo frames that had tons of photos taken in the last year. Charity events, photos of Pepper ad Tony, Rose and Tony, Tony with someone from the team, candid moments, and a lot. Tony didn't have a doubt that JARVIS had a major role to play in Pepper getting her hands on those photos.

Happy just gifted him a box of his favorite snacks for which Tony gave him a hug. As much as Thor loved-ahem *cough*obsessed*cough*- over pop tarts, Tony loved M&Ms, Skittles and such, each packed separately.

"Rosie, you are left" Ron pointed out

"I'm aware" Rose rolled her eyes and handed Tony a box. Tony sat down and unwrapped a gift to reveal a wooden box with 'AES' engraved on the top. Opening the box, he chuckled. Inside were a brown wallet, a pair of cufflinks, a tie-clip, and a bracelet, all with his initials engraved on them. The tie clip, in fact, had his entire name etched on it. And he knew that Rose had done the engravings herself. They were not as smooth as laser cuts and weren't as crude as an amateur's. The engravings were pretty decent, in her handwriting.

He picked the wallet and smiled bigged. Inside, on the left side, was engraved with the message:

DAD:
The Man
The Hero
The Myth
The Legend
The Iron Man

It was again in Rose's handwriting. On the right corner was a small rose-bud. the right side had a pair of photos. One had to be about a decade and a half old.

"Your 30th birthday" Rose supplied

the other photo was a selfie from a couple of weeks ago.

Tony had no doubt that all the things Rose gifted him were covered in invisible/barely-visible protection runes.

"Thanks, peanut" Tony smiled


The party hyped up when Clint ran the music system. Who knew he was such a good DJ? All the couples-Pepper and Tony, Angie and George, even Mia and Rhodey(Ron refused to dance saying he had two left feet) shared small dances. Thor shared a small dance with Victoire and Molly, Nat with Edward.

Following that, Pepper, Rose, and Mia served dinner, which they all ate to their heart's content. Then came the cake

"So what did you make?" Clint asked

"Champagne cake" Rose smiled

Tony nodded in approval. The kids were given lesser potions compared to adults, but still, Rose's cake got a lot of appreciation. They all chatted, kids telling about their stories and instances, Thor joining in time to time.

Victoire seemed to have developed a small crush over Thor as she stuck to his side the whole night. Dominique wasn't far and had grown fond of Clint. Fred also clung to Thor. Edward, sitting on Tony's lap, had asked if he could meet Hulk, but Bruce had flat out refused, citing Hulk wasn't safe, especially for kids. Edward had pouted but quickly got over when Steve started talking about his WWII days, finding it more interesting. Molly seemed to harbor some awe towards the ex-Soviet assassin, as she kept on glancing at her whenever Nat wasn't looking. Of course, Nat knew and entertained Molly whenever possible.

To say the whole thing went way better.


It was about 11.40 at night. The Weasleys had left with the kids-except Edward and Victoire who wanted to say over with their grandfather and Aunties Rose and Mia. Happy had left as well since he had chauffer duties the next morning.

"I'll say it a million times. This is one of the best birthdays I've ever had"

Clint laughed "We planned your birthday, Tony, of course, it was awesome"

"And you say I have an ego" Tony scoffed

"Hey Tony" Steve started "Now that you are forty-four, can you act like that more often"

Tony scoffed at that, nursing his glass of red wine "I act just fine" he nodded "Besides, 44 is less than half your age, star-spangled man with a plan. When are you gonna start acting your age?"

Steve shot him a passive look

"Tony" Pepper chided, snuggling to him and Tony shrugged as if he had nothing.

"And to think, Stark's a grandpa at 44. Steve~" Clint looked at the blonde man "What's your plan? When are you gonna be a grandpa?"

"For being a grandpa, I've to be a father first" Steve replied

"When is that good news going to arrive, Captain?" Thor asked with a stupid teasing grin

Steve blushed and rubbed the back of his neck

"Guys" Mia started, chuckling a little too "Can we just leave him alone? The night is about Tony, not Steve"

"Right right, behave." Tony nodded when he noticed Rose curb a yawn

"Tired, baby?" he asked

"Not really" she replied, quite tiredly

"Now that, is a lie" Nat replied

"Rose you are tired," Pepper said "it's clearly written all over your face"

Rose pouted

"and you are not the only one" Thor chuckled, gesturing to his side. Victoire had already dozed off, snuggling to Thor, while Edward was barely keeping his eyes open. Tony glanced at his grandson on his lap and chuckled. He placed a kiss on Edward's hair and pulled the boy closer, while Pepper played with his dark red hair.

"Rose" Steve started

"Okay, alright" Rose frowned mockingly and stood up and picked Victoire in her arms

She went to pick Edward, but Clint picked him first from Tony's hold

"Let's go"

"I can carry them, Katniss"

"you are half-asleep, Rosie. No way can you carry two sleeping children. Come on"

Rose was quite tired to argue, so she didn't

"Well, I'm calling it a night too" Clint called to others "Good night. Happy birthday once again, Shellhead"

With that, the two left. Slowly following that, others started leaving too. They all might not admit it, but they all had gotten tired over the day. Slowly they all trickled to their rooms.

Tony kissed Pepper on lips "Why don't you head upstairs, I'll be there in a while"

Pepper nodded with a smile and left

"Not asleep?" Steve asked, gathering around the throw-aways. Tony started picking the wine glasses

"Not really" Tony replied and took a deep breath as he started helping Steve clean the room a little

"Thank you, Steve. For everything you did today"

"Rose planned it all, telling us what to do and stuff. We followed her"

"Still, it wouldn't have been this amazing if only Rosie planed it" Tony chuckled

"Are you guys getting better?" Steve asked, collecting all the wrapping papers

"Yeah" Tony nodded "Birthday certainly helped. And don't think I haven't noticed you and others trying to keep her and my minds occupied all the time"

Steve gave him a sheepish look which made him laugh

"You knew?"

"You guys have been living here for almost 6 months now" Tony chuckled "and never once did you approach me or Rose asking us to upgrade your suit or weapons or asked us to teach you how to work tech. Clint, sure, but none of you others. Or Natasha asking for group dinner at some restaurant, out of the blue. Clint working with me to make new arrows and stuff. You accompanying us both for grocery runs. So yes, we figured, Captain Obvious"

Seve chuckled "We tried our best"

"and trust me, it's working"

Steve smiled under the appreciation for his efforts.

Both the men worked in silence for a while before Steve spoke up

"You and Rose are very different from what I had originally thought of you"

"You mean from Widow's SHIELD assessment?" Tony raised a brow

As they all had come to realize, Black widow and Natasha were different. Black Widow was a spy and assassin. Natasha was a fun-loving, passive-aggressive, and caring woman. They weren't the same. None of them were. Hulk and Bruce, Steve and Captain America, clint and Hawkeye, Rose and her alter-ego, him and Iron Man, they were all different sides of the same person, quite literally in some cases. In their suits, they were a team. Out of their suits, they were a family.

That made Tony realize that Rose didn't have a codename like the rest of the team did. He made a mental note about it to talk to her later

Steve shrugged "You both don't let the world see the real you, do you? You both wear a mask, quite brilliantly at that."

"Thanks?"

"Maybe you should try being you sometimes, Tony. The real you"

Tony chuckled and kept a hand on his hip

"It's not as easy as it looks, Steve." he breathed "Rose and I... we have complicated pasts, to put it mildly. There's a reason we...uh...as you said, wear masks."

Steve noted, it was the first time probably when Tony called him Steve and not Cap, Captain, or any other stupid nickname.

"I can't say about others, but your pasts don't matter to me. It's your present"

Tony gave him a tight smile

"Not everyone shares the same sentiment, Cap"

Steve inhaled sharply "You're right"

Tony snorted "Aren't I always"

.

.

.

...And that's how the moment was ruined.

Tony chuckled again, looking at his watch. 12:05 AM

"Well officially my birthday is over and officially, I'm heading to bed" Tony replied

Steve nodded

"Head to bed, Captain. My robots can clean the mess"

Steve looked around and joined Tony to head out.

they entered the elevator and waited in silence for Steve's floor to arrive

"Hey Steve"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks for the pep talk"

Steve nodded with a small smile and walked out fo the room

"Good night, Tony"

"'Night Capsicle. May you dream of hot young ladies"

Steve sighed as the elevator doors shut with Tony's laughter. Why Tony had to do such stuff?

But then again, he wouldn't trade a single person on the team for anyone else. With a fond smile on his face, Steve headed to his room for a much-needed sleep.


Notes:

(*)Chérie-Sweetheart in french

A little cameo by Weasleys and Teddy. Just a little clarification,

The year of birth and their current age is given below

Rose S. -1990 (22 Y.O)
George W. -1988 (25 Y.O)
Teddy -2007 (6 Y.O)
Victoire -2008 (5 Y.O)
Dominique -2011 (2 Y.O)
Molly II -2010 (3 Y.O)
Fred II -2010 (3 Y.O)

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