[A/N]: Next goal is 1000 Power Stones for TWO bonus chapters.Not again, you monsters. I can't write anymore. Stop feeding the counter. Don't comment. Don't share. Don't breathe. Let me rest. (…You're gonna do it anyway, aren't you?)
Sue laughed softly.
Reed was already lost in thought, his mind racing through equations only he could see. His lips moved silently, working through calculations.
Jay glanced down at Franklin, the chaos of the multiverse forgotten for a moment. "Guess some things don't need explaining," he murmured.
Reed finally pulled back from the projection, rubbing his temples. His eyes were bright despite the exhaustion etched into his face. "I need time to process this," he said, voice thick with awe. "And maybe... a bigger whiteboard."
Domino grinned. "And maybe a refill. HERBIE?"
"Already on it," the bot replied.
"I figured you'd say that." Jay carefully transferred Franklin back to Sue. The baby protested briefly, then settled when his mother's familiar scent surrounded him. "Which is why I'm glad you're happy, because I need a favor."
Reed's expression shifted to attentive curiosity. "For my son's godfather, anything."
"I need a spaceship capable of interstellar travel. One that can explore even the far reaches of the cosmos."
The room went very quiet.
Reed blinked. "That's... quite a request. May I ask why?"
Jay settled back onto the couch beside Domino. Her hand found his automatically. "You know my newfound love of travel. Plus, now that every single human constantly wants something from me or wants to do something to me, getting off-planet sounds increasingly appealing."
"There's more to it?" Reed observed.
"Yeah." Jay's expression grew distant. "I have someplace to visit out there. Someone to meet. And Earth-based transportation won't cut it."
Reed studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "I do have plans and designs for such a ship. Theoretical, mostly, but the foundation is sound. Give me a month. Maybe six weeks to ensure everything's properly tested."
"You'd do that?"
"Jay, you gave us our son's future. Building you a spaceship is the least I can do." Reed's smile was genuine. "Besides, the engineering challenges alone will be fascinating."
Jay stood and pulled Reed into a quick hug. "Thank you. Really."
"Now then," Sue said brightly, "enough talk of spaceships and multiverses. Jay, play with your godson. Domino, tell me about Asgard. I want all the details."
The next hour passed in easy companionship.
Jay took Franklin again, the baby seeming to prefer his godfather's arms. He made faces that had the infant gurgling with delight, pretending to steal the baby's nose, played gentle games with the tiny hands and feet, and narrated everything he was doing in a soft voice.
"And this is your left foot. It's very important. You'll use it for walking, running, and kicking bad guys when you're older. No pressure, though."
Franklin gurgled, his whole body wiggling with delight.
Domino found herself watching more than talking. Her responses to Sue's questions about Asgard grew distracted and automatic. Her eyes kept drifting to Jay and the way he cradled Franklin with such careful gentleness, to the unguarded happiness in his expression when the baby grabbed his finger.
When Jay laughed at something Franklin did, the sound was completely open. No walls or calculations. Just pure, unfiltered joy.
She'd seen Jay face down gods. Watched him manipulate nations and bend reality itself to his will. But this…this simple moment of playing with an infant might have been the most powerful thing she'd ever witnessed.
Because this was the part of him, he kept hidden from everyone else. The part that still believed in something pure.
"You're staring," Sue said softly, a teasing note in her voice.
Domino blinked, quickly looking away. "No, I'm just... observing."
Sue chuckled, her exhaustion giving way to genuine amusement. "Sure you are. It's okay, you've got that look people get when they realize they're in deep."
Domino sighed, trying for her usual smirk but not quite managing it. "Look, I'm a mercenary. I get paid to shoot people and blow things up. I'm not exactly the domestic type. Half the time I don't even know where I'll be sleeping next week."
Seeing Sue's warm smile and understanding in her tired eyes, she continued.
"Jay's ridiculous, you know. Half the time he's making cosmic-level decisions, and the other half he's talking to that baby like he's planning family movie nights."
Sue's smile warmed. "That's Jay. Big picture and heart first. You bring him balance, though. He's calmer with you around."
Domino's gaze drifted toward Jay and Franklin, the two of them quietly playing. Jay's finger being enthusiastically gummed by the infant, "I don't know what I'm doing half the time. Family's... not exactly something I grew up with. Government labs don't exactly do parent-teacher conferences or birthday parties."
"None of us really did either," Sue said, her tone gentle despite weariness in her voice. "You figure it out as you go. That's the secret no one tells you. Reed's a genius, and even he panics when Franklin cries for more than five minutes."
There was a small pause.
Then Sue's eyes gleamed, just a little mischievously. "So, how do you feel about kids?"
Domino shot her a look. "Suspicious. That's a loaded question if I ever heard one."
Sue laughed softly. "Good answer."
Domino exhaled, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Ask me again in a few years…if he's still crazy enough to want one with me or if the universe hasn't imploded from whatever cosmic nonsense, we're neck-deep in."
"He will be," Sue said confidently. "Men like Jay don't stop wanting more of what they love."
Domino didn't respond right away, just watched Jay's soft grin as Franklin babbled in his arms.
And for once, the idea of more didn't scare her and send her running for the nearest exit.
For once, she just let herself want it.
The afternoon light shifted, golden and warm. Franklin yawned, a huge yawn for such a small person. Jay rocked him gently, and the baby's eyes started to drift closed.
HERBIE's voice cut through the warm atmosphere.
"Pardon the interruption, but you have guests. They are requesting immediate entry and have SHIELD authorization codes."
On the wall screen, Fury's face appeared. His single eye blazed, and bulging veins on his head.
Behind him stood the others, each wearing varying expressions.
The warm domestic atmosphere evaporated. Replaced by sudden tension.
"Well," Domino said, her mercenary instincts kicking in, hand already moving toward where her gun would be if she'd brought it. "This looks like it's gonna be fun."
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