Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They didn’t ring the doorbell.

Instead, Sue Storm stepped through a portal of white-blue light and set down a baby carrier on the living room floor. Her husband carried the bulging bag of baby supplies. At the sight of it, Yelena’s eyes widened a fraction. It was her first time looking after a toddler — although, how different could it be from supervising Walker? — but she had no idea it required a duffle of provisions.

While Sue briefed her about what to expect, Bob bent over and pressed the button to unveil the baby. It was a shock to the system how small and fragile Franklin was: a fleshy little creature with soft tufts of hair, curious blue eyes, and a button-nose. With shaking hands, Bob freed the toddler from his restraints and scooped him up like a sack of sugar.

“Make sure to support his head. Keep a hand there.” Reed said, immediately.

At the same time, his wife pronounced: “You’re a natural already.”

The Richards exchanged a significant look, communicating silently in a way only a couple who had been married for years were capable of doing. Yelena already knew from their inter-dimensional phone calls the father was the cautious, overprotective one. She offered him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

“If we have problems, we will call you.” Yelena said, “How difficult can such a small, little thing be?”

She hoped her smooth, nonchalant tone covered up the anxiety pulsing in her chest. Already, she was seeing the tower in a new light: everything, from the hard corners of the coffee table to the free-floating stairs, seemed a terrible danger to the infant. But then her eyes locked onto Bob, who was cradling Franklin casually against his chest and responding to his cooing in kind, and Yelena relaxed a little.

Again, Sue and Reed glanced at each other, something unspoken passing between them. She rested a hand on her husband’s shoulder to soothe him, giving it a light squeeze. Still, he seemed reluctant to leave Franklin behind, pausing halfway through the portal to turn and look at him one last time.

“Everything he could need is in the bag.” Reed reminded them.

As suddenly as it had appeared, the portal snapped closed again. Without the faint electrical sizzling required to keep the inter-dimensional doorway open, the tower suddenly seemed very quiet. Franklin whimpered, a noise which sounded midway to being a fully formed word.

Turning on her heel, Yelena took the few steps necessary to close the distance between her and her boyfriend. He bounced Franklin delicately in his arms and pulled a funny face at him. Instantly, the frown lifted from the baby’s face and his lips twitched to almost form a smile.

“There.” Bob murmured.

“You’re so good with him.” Yelena said, surprised, “I think he likes you.”

Reaching up with a pudgy hand, the infant snatched a handful of Bob’s curls and yanked on them hard. His tinkling laughter was a beautiful, iridescent sound.

Chapter Text

“What do we do now?” Bob asked.

Yelena shrugged.

“I guess… we play with him?”

Quickly, they decided the rug was the safest environment for Franklin. Yelena took a turn holding the baby, while Bob lifted the coffee table off the rug with ease and moved it to the edge of the room. As she set Franklin down carefully and marvelled at his ability to sit up by himself, Bob was struck by their shared features. He wondered about genetics briefly. If they were to have a child someday, would it inherit Yelena’s blue eyes?

“Go see what toys he has.” She ordered, sitting with the infant between her legs, “Go see."

Inside Franklin’s bag, he discovered a wealth of different toys — most of them seemed to have been engineered by Reed Richards himself. Bob gathered up as many as he could carry and brought them over to the designated ‘play area’.

Immediately, Franklin crowed and reached for the bouncy ball, determined to shove the entire thing in his mouth. It didn't fit inside, thankfully. Bob sat across from them, legs folded, and they spent a while rolling the ball back and forth. Every time Franklin successfully pushed the ball away or snatched it up in his hands, they cheered and applauded. He clapped himself too. Being an only child, who hadn’t grown up with other children, Bob was surprised how instinctive it was to praise.

Once he was bored of the ball, Franklin crawled a foot or two to reach the building blocks. He was interested in the loud noise they made when slammed together. When Yelena tried to encourage him to build a tower, Franklin showed little interest. However, he did delight in knocking it down when she was finished. They played a few more rounds of ‘demolition’, Franklin shrieking with laughter every time he destroyed a brick creation.

“We are babysitting a future supervillain.” Yelena quipped.

“Maybe he doesn’t see your architectural vision.” Bob said, leaning back to narrowly avoid being hit by falling blocks.

“He’s destroying New York. Trust me. I know danger when I see it.”

Then, Yelena lifted the toddler to his feet and guided him by the hands, letting him kick the blocks around the living room floor. Bob wondered if the kid roared like Godzilla before or if it was something they could take credit for.

Out loud, he mused what entertainment Franklin usually got from his super-powered relatives. It was probably better than television. Yelena scoffed at the suggestion and got to her feet.

“I show you entertainment.”

Like paper, she folded in half and dropped backwards to hold her body in a perfect arch. True to her word, Franklin smiled when she lifted a hand up to wave at him. He seemed baffled by what she was doing, trying to turn his head upside down to look at her, and endlessly amused. Yelena spent most of the next hour walking sideways like a crab, Franklin crawling a few steps behind.

Chapter Text

Upon inspecting the refrigerator, Yelena found a few bottles of breastmilk stashed safely on the top shelf and retrieved one. Having located what she was looking for, she closed the door and returned her gaze to the handwritten instructions. Apparently, Franklin liked his milk at room temperature. Prior to today, Yelena didn’t know toddlers were capable of having preferences.

“Woah.” Came a deep voice from behind her, “You and Bobby have been busier than I thought.”

She turned to ensure Walker didn’t miss her eye-roll, bypassing him to get to the microwave. As she fiddled with the settings, Yelena heard the familiar sound of him opening a cabinet, taking out a protein bar, and the crinkling of the wrapper being torn off.

“We’re looking after Franklin today, you know this.” Yelena said, flatly.

When it was announced to the rest of the team, Bucky begrudgingly said it was fine and Ava was disinterested beyond making sure she wasn’t expected to do anything. But she had caught John staring down at his clasped hands, a faraway look in his eyes. She half-expected him to snap.

“Don’t use the microwave.” John slammed the door shut before she could argue.

“What are you—“

Before Yelena could finish her question, he was already gone from the room. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she went over the instructions in her hand again and frowned. Walker was right. She was supposed to heat the bottle with warm, running water — not the microwave. Huh.

Both of them were nervous about feeding Franklin. Anxiously, Bob kept muttering repeatedly about choking him, to the point it sounded like something traumatic must have happened to him before. Yelena knew it was time for her to step up. She skimmed the instructions again, then flipped them over to inspect the diagram on the other side. It was easy enough.

Sitting on the couch, Yelena propped Franklin semi-upright on her lap and guided the teat of the bottle to his mouth delicately. After tasting a few drops of milk, he latched onto the bottle right away. Privately, she was relieved. Mission accomplished.

“Look at that.” Bob murmured, softly.

At first she was confused, too focused on making sure Franklin wasn’t having any issues with his bottle. Then, Yelena followed his gaze and saw the infant was grasping her thumb in his petite fist. His hand was balmy and chubby, a real baby’s hand. Something tightened in Yelena’s chest, making it harder to breathe.

“Cupboard love.” She joked, instead of considering what it might mean, “He’s like you, Bob.”

Thankfully, her boyfriend sensed her discomfort and smiled fondly at her weak joke, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He perched on the arm of the couch, giving her shoulders a brief but reassuring rub. They watched Franklin’s dreamy expression as he drank from his bottle and Bob conceded it was similar to his own face when he ate a Five Guys’ cheeseburger.

Persistently, Walker invented excuses to pass through the room.

Chapter Text

After he finished his bottle, Yelena took another turn playing on the floor with Franklin. Her boyfriend retreated to the kitchen to wash up, since it was the household chore he took most pride in. While they were playing with a toy version of the Fantasticar, Yelena noticed the infant starting to yawn. In a panic, she checked the Richards’ instructions.

“Bob!” She called out, “We have a problem here!”

He dashed into the room like it was on fire, tripping over the abandoned building blocks and stumbling to steady himself. Yelena guessed that was her fault. Holding up her hands to soothe him, she apologised profusely and assured him there was no need to go full Sentry mode.

“Then, what is it?” He asked.

“Franklin looks sleepy.”

Alarmed, Yelena pointed at him. On cue, the baby opened his mouth wide and yawned. It only made Bob look more bemused about the situation. He shrugged his shoulders, as if to say ‘so?’.

She jabbed at the piece of paper with her finger.

“Nap time is in an hour. Not now.”

Although she had experience looking after a guinea pig, this was Yelena’s first time taking care of a baby. It was a significantly tougher mission, with greater consequences if she failed. The last thing she wanted to do was for Franklin to end up in therapy 30 years down the line because she let him fall asleep too early. Look at how Bob’s parents messed him up. Look at Yelena’s. What if, despite all her hard work, she ended up being just like them?

Bob raised his eyebrows.

“Since when were you such a stickler for rules?” He teased.

It was a gentle jab, but Bob must have noticed her serious expression because he wisened up and stopped joking. Whipping his phone out of his pocket, he fired off a text message to the number the Richards had given them. Given the Fantastic Four were on an important mission, neither of them expected an instant response. A ping! seconds later took them by surprise.

“Sue says it’s fine, as long as he doesn’t sleep too long.” Bob said, holding up the phone so she could see the message herself.

She picked up Franklin, who’s head was starting to droop, and they retreated to the bedroom. To be exact, it was Bob’s bedroom: it was closer and had a comfortable patchwork blanket spread over the bed. The queen size had enough room for all three of them, the infant settled in the middle. Yelena watched him stretch and yawn, fascinated by child performing minute versions of adult actions. Franklin laid a small hand on Bob’s own, the nearest thing he could reach.

Glancing up, Yelena saw a familiar tenderness in her boyfriend’s eyes. It was a look he reserved for little children they saw playing at the park, pet dogs on leashes they passed in the street, and her. It was a look of pure adoration.

Together, they watched Franklin close his eyes.

Chapter Text

When Bob drifted awake, still drowsy with sleep, he was alone on the bed. Panic shot through him, forcing him to sit up and look around for the baby. His breathing came quick and uneven. There was no sign of Franklin anywhere. Then, he heard the sound of bubbling laughter and Yelena chatting in the next room. Relief crashed over Bob in a heavy wave.

He padded along the short corridor to the main living space and found a mess, the contents of Franklin’s bag emptied out onto the floor. Yelena was kneeling on the floor, murmuring companionably to the infant beneath her as she picked up the wipes.

“Ah, Bob.” She said, without looking up from her work, “You are just in time for changing diaper.”

Although her tone was teasing, the smell made Bob wrinkle his nose and reel back a little. Yelena seemed less bothered as she cleaned up Franklin and stuffed the offending items into a plastic bag, tying it off. Vaguely, Bob wondered if it came up in assassin training.

“I forgot about diapers…” Bob muttered.

Yelena scoffed. She shook white powder into her hand and rubbed it over Franklin’s body, making him giggle again. Bob had heard of baby powder before, but he had no idea what it was used for. Privately, he worried he was letting the side down. He didn’t want to end up being one of those guys, who let the women do all the housework and childcare.

“You can fight the big, bad void but you’re scared of a little baby poop?” Yelena teased.

“I’m not scared—“

Picking up the dirty diaper bag, Yelena swung it in his direction, pretending she was going to through it. Despite himself, Bob squeaked with alarm. She laughed, then picked up a fresh diaper.

Before he could lose confidence, Bob knelt down on the floor beside her.

“Can I do it?” He said.

Wordlessly, Yelena smiled and handed the diaper over. It was decorated with tiny versions of the Fantastic Four logo, which made Bob wonder if it was official merchandise. He could tell easily which way up the diaper went because of the leg holes, but it was harder to distinguish the front from the back. Was he an idiot? It was a relief to learn Yelena wasn’t sure either.

Bob guessed the cartoons of the team went on the front. He lifted Franklin up cautiously and set the diaper down beneath him. While Yelena held his legs in place, he pulled up the front and managed to tape both sides together. It was trickier to button up Franklin’s onesie. Even with the two of them working on it, several attempts were required.

“We did it.” Yelena said, relieved.

It was kind of her to say so, given she did most of the work. She scooped Franklin up and balanced him on her hip, carrying him back towards the play area.

“Snoozers clean up the dirty diapers.” She sung, making Bob groan loudly.

Chapter Text

“Don’t drop him!”

“I’m not going to drop him, Yelena.”

“The Fantastic Four will kill us all if you drop him!”

“We can take them…”

“Bob!”

“Not dropping him!”

While Yelena remained on the ground, prepared to catch the infant if anything went wrong, the other two floated serenely a few feet above the floor.

Approximately a year after they moved into the Watchtower, Bob mastered the art of telekinesis. Well, he got the hang of it. He was still a long way from the ten thousand hours required to consider himself a master of anything, let alone his powers.

Floating by himself was easy enough. It felt second nature — Bob couldn’t really explain how or why it worked, he just did it. Levitating a variety of objects at once (or one small person) required more concentration. But he had practiced a lot. If he could keep Yelena in the air, Franklin would be no problem in comparison.

As an extra precaution, they had spread out every cushion and pillow in the penthouse on the floor. Yelena stayed close, arms outstretched and ready, with her eyes locked on Franklin. Despite her worries, Bob hadn’t felt his control slip at all. Not even a little bit.

“You are incredible, Bob.” Yelena said, proud.

He grinned down at her from where he was floating, halfway to the ceiling. Both his hands were gripping Franklin’s teeny ones, swinging him gently back and forth. The Richards baby squealed with delight, crowing gibberish which sounded suspiciously like ‘more, more’.

“I have a great coach.” He replied, spinning Franklin around in a circle.

“And cheerleader.” Yelena said, “Give me a B! Give me a O! Give me—“

The chanting was accompanied by her hopping on the spot, imitating the moves she had seen on TV. Still giggling, Franklin watched with awe. He seemed to be much more interested in whatever Yelena was doing than sustained flight. Bob couldn’t fault him for that. He was, too.

Before he could stop it, an image entered his mind: him, Yelena, and another joyful infant. Maybe a blonde boy with dark eyes or a girl with brown curls and bright blue eyes. Either way, they would have Yelena’s smile. They would move out of the tower, perhaps into a suburban area and—

Bob felt a pang of sadness, knowing his imagination had run away from him.

They hadn’t discussed the idea of having kids; it was far too early in their relationship for that. Yelena had never expressed an interest. Despite jokes made by the rest of the team, their sex lives were virtually non-existent, an agreement they were both happy with. And, when she was vulnerable in his arms late one night, Yelena confessed she couldn’t have children.

He refocused his attention on Franklin. The toddler was clapping his hands, impressed by Yelena’s ridiculous cheer routine. Inspired, Bob made him float over towards her and Yelena caught him, beaming.

Who cared about the future? What mattered was right now.

Chapter Text

Sooner than they expected, a portal reopened in the middle of the living room. Yelena snatched the toddler (who was investigating whether it was possible to crawl underneath the couch) off the floor. She held him a safe distance from the portal.

Reed Richards stepped through first, eyes flickering rapidly around the room until they locked on his son. Relief bloomed across his face, tense features relaxing. Yelena watched him step forward, hand reaching out instinctively to retrieve his son, then visibly restrain himself. She couldn’t blame him for being overprotective, given what they had gone through, but the mischievous part of her desperately wanted to mess with him. She had to stop herself too.

“Hi Frankie!” Sue beamed, joining her husband’s side.

Her son waved a pudgy fist at her, the other one clamping a fistful of Yelena’s shirt. Franklin was halfway to forming the word ‘mama’, although he hadn’t managed it yet. He burbled instead, happy. In lieu of torturing Reed further, Yelena stepped over the mess on the floor to return him to his parents. All three of them were glad to be reunited.

“Did you have fun with Aunt Yelena and Uncle Bob?” Sue asked, holding her son close and kissing the top of his wispy hair.

“Yes, lots of fun.” Yelena said, on his behalf, “You’re early.”

While they spoke, Bob scrambled to collect Franklin’s belongings from around the penthouse and stuff them haphazardly into his bag. He darted into the kitchen to fetch the bottles and Reed waited for him to leave, then used one stretchy arm to pack everything in a few swift moves.

On his return, Bob stared dumbly, looking like a deer in headlights. He tucked the empty and full bottles safely into the correct compartments.

“The ‘world destroying’ threat we picked up on our radar turned out to be more of a ‘downtown destroying’ one.” Reed said, sheepishly.

“His calculations were off.” Sue explained, patting his arm fondly.

“Johnny erased an integer when I wasn’t looking!”

Yelena and Bob exchanged a knowing look, more than familiar with team in-fighting. Before she turned away, her boyfriend’s face broke into a goofy grin and she found herself stifling a laugh. She felt a strong wave of fondness for him.

Bob cleared his throat: “We’re happy to look after Franklin anytime—“

“Anytime.” Yelena said, simultaneously, nodding, “As long as we don’t have—“

“Have a mission.” He finished.

“Exactly.”

Sue looked to her husband briefly, then nodded. It seemed they had unwittingly passed the test.

“Of course.” Reed said, “We’ll be in touch next time he needs a sitter.”

He shouldered the duffel bag and took the time to shake both their hands formally, as if they were agreeing on a business deal. Bob looked delighted to receive his approval.

“Say ‘bye’, Franklin. Bye bye.”

The infant smiled toothily, as his mother lifted his hand in another little wave. Automatically, Yelena and Bob mirrored the gesture.

She felt sad to see the family leave.

Chapter Text

When Bob finished washing up the dishes from dinner, he joined the rest of the team in watching 22 Jump Street. Yelena lifted her blanket and patted the empty spot beside her on the couch, which he was happy to squeeze into. Automatically, Bob curled towards his girlfriend and rested his head on her shoulder. She ruffled his curls fondly.

An hour passed of them watching and joking about the movie, before Walker suddenly frowned. He gestured to where the coffee table usually was.

“Didn’t we used to have something there?” He asked.

It wasn’t necessary to look at Yelena to know she was struggling to bite back a laugh. Underneath him, Bob could feel her body shaking with effort. He grinned. Forgetting to return the table to its regular place was an honest mistake, but he kept his mouth shut when Yelena replied innocently:

“No, I don’t think so. It’s always been a rug there.”

Still suspicious, John glanced at the others for confirmation. Ava nodded. Bucky grunted.

As the credits rolled, each member of the team gradually got up and disappeared to their own rooms for the rest of the night. Absentmindedly, Bob checked his phone to find a message from Sue: Was Frankie making dinosaur noises when he was with you today? It seems to be his new favourite trick… Quickly, he corrected her about them being Godzilla noises.

He put his phone away to find it was only him and Yelena left, tangled under the blanket. She was holding his hand between her own, tracing the prominent veins, and humming a song from the radio. Watching her, Bob thought of Franklin gripping his finger with a chubby hand.

“Maybe we should have a baby.” He suggested.

Shock registered on Yelena’s face, as if it was the last thing she was expecting him to say, and then her expression softened. It was a mix of wistful, fond, and a little sad.

“You know we can’t do that, Bob.” She replied, matter-of-fact.

Logically, he already knew she was right. There was no way for the two of them to have any biological children, not without extensive help from professionals. But it wasn’t the only way to have kids, especially in the 21st century. He had even been fostered by a childless couple briefly as an adolescent, when CPS extracted him from his home. That was without factoring in…

“We could have a magic baby?” He said, half-joking.

Yelena barked out a laugh and picked up a cushion, smacking him lightly with it. Okay, he had to admit the idea was pretty ridiculous. But this was a world with all-powerful babies and flying cars.

“You’re my magic baby.” Yelena teased, cupping his chin with her hands and kissing the tip of his nose.

Conversation over, they lapsed back into comfortable silence. Yelena yawned and stretched her arms above her head, mentioning something about getting up to train in the morning. Contently, Bob thought about sleeping in past noon. Maybe finishing his book.

Yelena was halfway to the door, blanket draped over one shoulder like a cape, when she paused. She turned her head back to look at him, expression hopeful.

“Maybe one day.” She said.

Gently, Bob smiled back at her. He knew exactly what she was talking about.