by Alicia McKenzie
DISCLAIMER: Marvel's belong to Marvel, but all the kids, appearing and just mentioned, are mine. :) This is part of the New Order sequence of my Pantheon series. Just pure fluff here, folks....:)
Well, THAT was new.
With a sort of wary curiosity, thirteen month-old Clare Summers watched the new thing as it crawled around on the floor. She really didn't like all the attention the Big Ones had been paying to it all day. Stupid thing. She picked up one of her building blocks and threw it at the thing, just to see what sort of a reaction she would get.
The block bounced off the thing's forehead and the thing started to cry loudly. As soon as it did, Smelly picked it up and started talking to it in a voice that didn't sound like Smelly at all. Clare glared. Smelly felt all strange when she touched him with her mind today. He didn't even SMELL like Smelly anymore, and she didn't like that. . .
Someone scooped her up and she found herself on a familiar lap, bright violet eyes giving her the 'You've Been Bad' look. Clare could feel that she wasn't really mad, but still. . .
"Bad," Clare said, defiantly, scowling.
"Yes, that was bad," Mama said, her mouth twitching in that funny way it did sometimes. Then she looked over at Smelly. "Pete, is Harry all right?"
"Nothing hurt but his feelings," Smelly said, and put the thing back down, kneeling beside it on the floor and playing. . .playing Peekaboo?
Clare started to kick. "Down!" she demanded. This was too much. . .Smelly wasn't supposed to play Peekaboo with anyone but her!
"Only if you be good, Clare," Mama said firmly, and raised an eyebrow. "Promise?" There wasn't any way to get around Mama this time, Clare knew, reaching out with her mind and seeing what Mama was feeling.
"Promise," Clare said sullenly. Mama nodded and then set her down. Clare toddled over and sat down beside Smelly and the new thing, glaring as she picked up one of her blocks and set it on another.
"Tower," she said clearly. Smelly looked up from the new thing and smiled.
"That's a bloody nice tower," he said, his eyes twinkling.
"Pete, language," Mama said with a sigh.
"Sorry, Dom." Smelly didn't feel sorry at all, Clare noted. He kept smiling, and picked up another block, setting it on top of the others. "Look. . .now it's even bigger."
Clare was delighted. "Tower!" she squealed, and put another block on. Why hadn't she ever thought of that before?
"Looks like you've got a budding architect, Dom," Smelly said.
"Or a demolitions expert," Mama chuckled.
Clare studied her new tower, fascinated by it. It was so much higher! Then the new thing made a cooing noise, and Clare gave it a suspicious look. "Bad," she muttered. Why couldn't it just go away?
Smelly laughed. "Come on now, Clare. He's not all that much smaller than you, love. You two could be great friends when you grow up. . ."
So Smelly liked the thing. So what? Clare smacked a hand against her tower and watched it fall over. "Bad," she declared. Next thing she knew, Mama and Da would be playing with it, instead of her. . .
#You know we wouldn't do that, Clare,# came Da's voice in her mind. Clare's bad mood went away a little as she looked up and saw him coming into the room. She knew better than to run at him, although she wanted to. Running at Da usually knocked him over. So she waited until he came over and got down on the floor with them, putting his walking stick down beside him.
"Up?" she asked hopefully. He smiled, and she got up on his lap. She looked down at the thing, feeling better already. Da's lap was HER place. HE hadn't picked the thing up all day. . .
Da was chuckling. "Oath, I'm glad Ororo took Kitty out for the day. . .give us a chance to get this particular bit of awkwardness over with."
"She's used to being the baby, I guess," Smelly said. "Did Nick and Zara fuss when she came along?"
"Oh, yes," Mama said, getting down on the floor with them. "I caught Zara trying to put her in the mailbox, once. . ."
Smelly laughed. "Sending her back where she came from?"
"Something like that, I'd imagine. Sulven was horrified," Mama said, smiling.
Clare looked up and giggled as Growly came in, looking down at them with that funny face he made sometimes. "Am I missing something?" he asked.
"Just introductions, old man," Mama said. "Clare decided she was going to bounce a building block off Harry's head. . ."
Growly shook his head and sat down on the floor. Clare had almost forgotten why she'd been angry, with so many of her favorite people talking about her rather than fussing over the thing. "That wasn't very nice, darlin'," Growly said to her.
"Bad," Clare admitted. Even Big Ones didn't lie to Growly.
"Yeah, bad," Growly said with a snort, picking up one of the blocks and waving it in front of the thing, who grabbed at it.
"Ma! Mabah!" it said. Smelly got that funny look on his face again. It was a goofy look, Clare decided. He looked like he was about to pick up the thing and kiss it or something. . .and that wasn't like Smelly.
"Oh, I think she knows she was bad," Mama said, giving Da one of those looks. "But she's not backing off, either. Must be the Summers genes. . ."
"I don't think you can blame Nate for all of it, Neena," Growly said with a chuckle. He put the block down in front of the thing and then looked at Clare. "Give Harry a chance, darlin'," he said. "You might find out you like him."
"He does have his endearing side," Mama laughed. "Must take after his mother. . ." Smelly didn't make a comment, like he usually would. He just grinned. Mama looked back at Clare. "Why don't you see if he wants to play?" she suggested in that voice that meant she really wanted Clare to do something.
Clare puzzled over it. They all seemed to want her to like the thing. . .how come? Sliding down off Da's lap, she walked over and sat down in front of the thing. It looked at her with big cloudy blue eyes, and then smiled.
"Ca-ra," it cooed. Clare watched it for a minute and then reached out towards it with her mind.
And there was something there! It wasn't just a thing. She smiled at it. "Pretty," she said.
"Ca-ra."
It was a he like Smelly and Growly and Da. But the colors didn't have any shadows in it, like theirs did. Bright blue, all shiny in her head. Pretty. Clare giggled.
"Tower," she said encouragingly, putting two blocks together.
He blinked at her. "Ta?"
"Tower!" She tried putting the third block on like Smelly had showed her, but it fell over. Clare sniffled, upset. Maybe it was too big? Or maybe Smelly had a trick, to make it stay up. . .
The new thing reached out and picked up one of the blocks. "Ta-wa?" he said, and Clare blinked as the blue reached out to her, all warm and happy, and folded around her like a blanket. "Ta-wa?"
Suddenly she didn't feel like crying anymore. She took the block, and started to build again. He watched, and giggled as she got all three blocks up.
"Ta-wa!"
"Well, will you look at that," Smelly said in a soft voice.
"Tower," Clare said firmly.
"Yeah, that's a tower all right," Mama said, and Clare smiled happily as she felt Mama was happy too.
"Tower," she said, and then looked down at him, pushing another block towards him. He picked it up and put it in his mouth. "Silly," Clare said severely.
He giggled at her, and then dropped the block. "Ca-ra," he said again.
"Do you think he's trying to say her name?" Smelly asked, sounding amazed. "He hasn't said anything but Ma and Da yet. . ."
"I definitely think they're talking, Pete," Da said softly.
Clare looked at him, giggling happily at the warmth coming from him. "Play?"
"Go ahead," Da said, looking only at her. He was smiling. "Just play nice."
"Nice," she promised, and turned back to her new playmate, who was tasting all the blocks, one by one. "No," she said, trying to sound like Mama. All the Big Ones laughed, and she gave them a disgusted look. "Tower," she said firmly. There were lots more blocks. They could build more towers.
"Ta-wa, Ca-ra!"
"Tower. . ." She stopped, trying to remember what they'd called him. "Har?" she tried, looking up at Mama.
"Harry," Mama said.
"Tower, Harry," Clare said, satisfied.
"Ta-wa!" Harry giggled, and threw a block at her.
fin