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ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING
xv. PINKY PROMISE PHENOMENON

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  FEAR IS A BASTARD. When requested to define fear, that's the simplest answer that can be accumulated. Fear is a common sensation that impacts each of us in more ways than one. We've familiarized ourselves with it from the beginning of time as our childhood's looming shadow. Whether it's spotting a cockroach in your home, desperately fleeing from whoever's "it" in a fierce game of Tag, or having a near-death experience, fear is unfortunately easily attained. It's an unpleasant sensation that acts as a leader for potential anxiety and trauma to frighten us to the point where we become fearful of fear itself. However, over time, we learn to overcome it, building courage as we do so.

   Riley knew fear like the back of her hand. She lived off of her own fear for years, using it as a motivator to keep going. Whether it was the fear that clung to her after her parents passed, after conquering deadly enemies, or after being kidnapped by an alien, She taught herself how to subjugate her own despair and keep her chin up. It was easy to forget who she was and how she managed to get to a brighter mentality in the first place, but she never gave up. She wouldn't let herself, no matter how often she'd think about it. After all, Riley called herself Valor because she was so damn good at having courage.

   All this to say that Riley considered fear as a bittersweet friend who she surmounted time and time again. Between aliens, HYDRA, robots, and facing off with her supervillain father, Riley would have never thought that the one thing that made her forget what it meant to have undeniable courage after all these years would be meeting Morgan Stark.

   Morgan Stark was their mother and father's pride and joy rolled up into a 5-year-old. She was everything to the Starks, and Riley could sort of see why just from hearing all the stories. Then again, how interesting could some kid be anyway? Maybe that was just the Natasha part of her subconscious talking, but truly, Riley was mostly confused.

   Riley didn't know how to act around children, which should have been incredibly obvious given that she only ever grew up around child agents who were expected to act 20 years older than they actually were. Riley never played with kids her age in a park; Riley grew up training and mastering weapons and combat. There was no such thing as a "make-believe world" for Riley, only reality.

   The people Riley surrounded herself with didn't exactly make it any easier. No one babied her besides Steve and many a few old friends she couldn't remember very clearly anymore. She was seen as a soldier, a weapon, not a kid. She saw herself through the eyes of others.

   Embedding all of this together, it only made sense that Riley was beyond nervous to meet her little sister.

   Riley stood before the mirror in one of the many bathrooms in the Stark household. "Hey! Hi... Hey there... Hey, what's up? Hi! I'm Riley... I'm your sister... Hey, I'm Riley!" Riley paused. She reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, exasperatedly sighing.

   Hours had elapsed following Riley's arrival at the Stark home for the first time. She had quickly decided after her specialized tour that she was meant to be here, with her parents, in this house, happy. Riley didn't need to be afraid of settling down when she had more than what she could possibly dream of. It would be hard to maintain this mindset—God knows it was the first time Riley moved in with Pepper and Tony—but Riley was ready. She was ready to be happy.

   Really, all that was standing between Riley and her desired happiness was her sudden fear of meeting her little sister. It wasn't the fact that she wasn't excited to meet her. Riley loved the idea of having a little sister to help bring up. She was more so anxious about the fact that she didn't know if Morgan would accept her, or if she'd even like Riley to begin with. Then what would Riley do? She didn't want to find out.

   "This is stupid," Riley murmured, looking herself over in the mirror. "You're Riley. You fought aliens. You're an Avenger. How hard could it be to impress a kid?" She paused, discouraged. Her face fell. "Pretty hard."

   "You know, people normally use bathrooms to relieve themselves, not hype themselves up," Tony Stark's voice came from beside the fully opened door.

   Rolling her eyes, Riley dragged her head to the side to see him. He looked amused, which wasn't much of a surprise. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I can't help it! What am I supposed to say to her when we meet? Does she even know how to count to 10?"

   "Why would she be able to solve Einstein's riddle, but not know how to count to 10?" he retorted.

   Riley threw her hands in the air. "I don't know! If she's your kid, she's probably weird like that."

   "Should I take offense to that?" Tony wondered with a light tone. He calmly walked over to her side. "You were excited three hours ago about meeting her, and now you're freaking out. It seriously makes no sense how you can get thrown from the sixth floor of a German airport, but can't handle the thought of interacting with a kid."

   Riley stifled a laugh. "Right?" she replied, shaking her head. "But it's not just any kid. It's your kid. It's Pepper's kid. It's my sister! Isn't this a normal reaction?"

   Tony reached out and pressed his hand onto her shoulder, supportively squeezing it. "Just breathe," instructed Tony. "Remember, you're Riley J. Stark. That already makes you the second coolest person in the world. This is nothing you can't handle. Just be yourself and you'll be fine. I guarantee it." He paused before adding, "Besides, it's not like you can't take her. Seriously, she's like this tall." Tony held his hand out close to the ground to show Riley, causing her to softly chuckle again.

   Riley stared at him skeptically. "What drugs did you and Nat take that made you both decent at comforting people?" interrogated Riley. "It's starting to worry me."

   A quiet exhale could be heard from the father, the indicator of a silent laugh. "You might be my kid now, but you were one of my best friends first," Tony stated factually. "I know you well enough to know how to make you feel better, even after all these years."

   That was true. All those times he'd make her dance with him when she was stressed, all those times he'd make her laugh when she was feeling down, all those times he'd tell everyone Riley was the strongest Avenger when she hardly knew how to use her powers because he wanted her to be more confident—they were all attempts of Tony expressing his love in his own way.

   Riley paused, her heart swelling at the thought. "I think I know you pretty well, too."

   Shrugging, Tony agreed, "Of course you do. You've got the best of me. Now, I'd love to hang out next to a toilet, but Morgan keeps asking about you and we're not eating dinner until after, so—"

   "You asshole!" Riley exclaimed, hitting his arm. "She was here this whole time and you wanted to have a cute father-daughter moment instead!?"

   Tony shrugged again. "It felt appropriate. Pepper got back, like, 20 minutes ago," he dismissed. He began to walk out of the bathroom, leaving Riley flabbergasted. "If you don't hurry up, we're feeding your cheeseburger to the dog!"

   Riley furrowed her eyebrows together. "We don't have a dog...?"

   "I'll make it happen!" Tony called back.

   "You wouldn't!"

   "Try me!"

   Riley narrowed her eyes at his back, following behind Tony as he entered the living area.

   "Morgoona," Tony called out in a sing-song voice, sauntering into the dining area. Patiently sitting at the table was a little girl. "I brought you something."

   The little girl audibly gasped as she turned to face her dad. "Is she here?" whispered Morgan eagerly. It certainly wasn't much of a whisper, considering Riley could hear her from several paces away.

   Tony leaned down and whispered something Riley couldn't hear into Morgan's ear. Both of their backs faced Riley as she silently approached them. As Riley made her way to their side, Morgan leaned away from her father, nodded, and jumped out of her seat. She sprinted toward Riley with a big smile on her face. Before Riley could react whatsoever, Morgan wrapped her arms around Riley's lower body as tight as she possibly could.

   Riley's eyes widened. She had absolutely no idea how to respond as she looked back at Tony. They shared a silent conversation solely through facial expressions and eye movements.

   "It's hugging me!" Riley motioned to the child with her head.

   Tony rolled his eyes. "'It' is your sister. Just hug her back!"

   Riley shook her head violently, fearful that she'd crush her. When Tony gave her one of those famous fatherly stares, Riley sighed and awkwardly returned the hug. Her nerves became inflamed as Morgan giggled and released her hold on Riley. She turned back to her father.

   "I did it!" Morgan cheered. It didn't take Riley long to realize that he must've told Morgan to not let go until she received a hug in response. Morgan skipped back toward Tony, who high-fived his youngest daughter as she sat back down.

   Riley walked forward to properly join Tony's side, shooting him a sarcastic smile. He happily ruffled the teenager's hair in response. "Morgan H. Stark, introduce yourself," Tony commanded. "I'm gonna go help Mom in the kitchen."

  Riley snapped her head toward him, trying to conceal her nervousness, even attempting to oppose. But Tony only waved his hand and walked away, leaving Riley to her doom.

   She turned back to Morgan, who was blissfully grinning at her. Hesitantly, Riley sat in the chair across from her.

   "I'm Morgan!" the 5-year-old confidently introduced herself. She extended her arm across the table, leaving Riley to stare at the dainty hand that waited to be shaken. Riley carefully connected their hands, fearful she'd accidentally break the fragile child. "Daddy says you were one of the best superheroes in the whole wide universe. You must be really good if you can come back from the dead!"

   Riley paused, genuinely taken aback. Just breathe. "Well, something like that," she finally replied. "I'm Riley."

   "I know!" Morgan beamed. "Mommy and Daddy told me about you!" She paused, a legitimately concerned expression contorting her facial features. Morgan tilted her head to the side, leaning with her forearms resting on the table. "So does this mean we're sisters now? I've been askin' Mommy for one for eons!"

   Riley didn't even want to know how this five-year-old kid knew what an "eon" was.

   Riley really had to think about how she was supposed to act around Morgan. She thought about how Natasha and other various agents treated her growing up. They were tough. They were hard on her without any warning. Although it shaped her into the person she was today, it wasn't without all of the downsides. She didn't want Morgan to experience anything like that.

   After all, Morgan was clearly not an ordinary kid. Maybe the best way to go about it was treating Morgan like Riley had been treated the more she grew up. She had always appreciated being treated as an equal, but the one thing Riley despised was the lack of love, kindness, and support for a long time. Riley decided she'd give what she didn't have back then to Morgan.

   Riley pretended to consider her question despite already knowing the answer. "Hm, you know, I think it does."

   Morgan's eyes lit up at her words. "Yay!" she cheered. "But I have a question for you. A really, big, giant question."

   Riley tilted her head to the side very slightly. "What's that?"

   "Do you like juice-pops?"

   Riley paused. The question wasn't anything she had been expecting. Then again, Morgan was a kid. She wasn't going to ask about nuclear codes or all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets; she was going to ask about things that actually mattered to a 5-year-old, like juice-pops.

   "Can I tell you a secret?" Riley countered. Morgan nodded eagerly.

   "I won't tell anyone!" Morgan insisted. "Tell me!"

   Riley secretively looked around for any listening ears, causing Morgan to grow restless with anticipation. This was Morgan's first sisterly secret. Morgan didn't know it yet, but she was going to treasure this moment with her big sister for the rest of her life.

   "I've never had a juice-pop before," admitted Riley. This caused Morgan's eyes to grow so big that they might as well explode from the pressure. Her jaw dropped to the floor as she gasped. "Shh! It's a secret!"

   Morgan nodded again. "Sorry," she sheepishly apologized. She lowered her voice into a whisper. "You've never had a juice-pop? Ever?" Riley shook her head. Morgan frowned. "That should be, like, illegal!"

   "Right?" Riley agreed. "Are juice-pops your favorite?"

   Morgan hummed. "Mhm! Well, no, I lied," admitted the brunette. "I like Cheeseburgers a lot." Riley paused. Dad really did rub off on the both of us, huh. "But juice-pops are good, too! They're this much apart!" Morgan created a very, very tiny gap between her fingers to show Riley the difference.

   "That's pretty close. What's your favorite flavor?"

   Riley smiled as she watched Morgan think about it for a moment. "Mango," she finally declared. "I promise you'll have your first juice-pop soon! Actually, I pinky promise, so that's how you know I'm being serious!"

   Riley's smiled faded as the words echoed in her head. Her eyebrows came together as her face twisted with dismay. "Pinky... promise...?" repeated Riley. She had never heard those words put together before. "What's that?"

   Morgan faltered, eyes wide. "You don't know what a pinky promise is? Do you know what a promise is?" This time, Riley nodded. "Well, when a promise is super duper serious, you pinky promise, so you have to keep it. If you don't, you're a bad friend."

   Riley blinked twice. "Are we friends now?" wondered Riley. She was legitimately curious about how they could be friends so easily. Then again, Riley never understood how friendships worked, even to this day.

   "Duh! We're friends and we're sisters," reminded Morgan, causing Riley to smile. She stuck her hand upward, her pinky pointed to the ceiling. "Gimme your pinky." Riley imitated the girl's hand motion. Morgan reached out and intertwined their pinkies. "See? Now we've made a pinky promise. I always make Mommy pinky promise she'll let me play with my toys longer 'cause if she breaks the promise, we can't be friends anymore."

   Riley paused, humoring the thought. "I should try that out sometime," Riley stated, mostly to herself. Their parents wouldn't be able to resist it if Morgan was in the room. "You're gonna be some force to reckon with someday."

   Morgan beamed at Riley, her teeth exposed as she grinned. "I don't know what that means!" she exclaimed. Riley stared at her for a moment before she laughed. She let out a serious, genuine laugh at the response. Riley shook her head at how adorable Morgan was.

   "Do you hear that?" Tony asked as he waltzed into the room with his usual arrogance shrouding his words. He placed two large plates onto the table in front of the girls. Burgers and fries were on each of them. "Too much laughing, not enough eating! Boom, Cheeseburgers."

   Riley eyed her father curiously before glancing back at the kitchen where Pepper had been bringing out drinks. In the corner was a crumbled up McDonald's bag. Riley shook her head. She shouldn't have been surprised to realize that Pepper and Tony were totally spying on their daughters interacting for the first time.

   "Only the best for the best," Pepper added, joining her family with a certain flair in her step. It was like she and Tony had just received a newfound wave of positive energy after spying on their kids.

   She sat down beside Riley, leaving Tony to take the seat next to Morgan. The four dug into their meals without another question about it. "Hey, Mommy?" Morgan called as she swallowed her burger. "Can we have juice-pops after dinner?"

   "It's almost 7:30, sweetie," Pepper pointed out with a smile. "You'll have a sugar rush and never go to sleep if we do."

   Morgan dropped her smile into a pout—one that she very clearly knew would be irresistible to her parents. She glanced to her right where her father was happily eating his meal. "Daddy gives me juice-pops. He gives me two!"

   Pepper glanced back at Tony with raised eyebrows. "Oh, does he, now?"

   Tony looked between Morgan and Pepper before crying out, "Extortion! That's illegal. You know what that means? Jail." Riley snorted at this, stuffing fries into her mouth. "You'll go to a special baby jail with no juice-pops and ugly uniforms. No cool clothes. Just ugly orange jumpsuits."

   Morgan shrugged her shoulders. She looked confident in her abilities as she opened her mouth to continue. "But they have to give me juice-pops," Morgan calmly insisted.

   "Uh-huh?" charged Tony, stretching out to wipe the ketchup on the side of Morgan's mouth. "And why's that?"

   She glimpsed back at Riley with a smile. "Because I pinky promised Riley we'd have some," she proclaimed matter-of-factly. "And if I don't give her one, I'm a bad friend. And the police wouldn't want that!"

   Tony and Pepper glanced back at each other. Judging the pained, yet somewhat amused stares that they wore, Riley could report that this pinky promise phenomenon was an actual, legitimate issue in the Stark household. Of course, Riley just had to use this to her advantage.

   "Morgan's right," added Riley. "You wouldn't want our friendship to be ruined because we couldn't have juice-pops, right?" Riley stole a peek back at Morgan, who was staring at Riley in awe. She was so used to fighting her battles on her own, but now, she had Riley to help her out. Morgan giggled brazenly when Riley shot her a wink.

   Pepper was the first to sigh, despite the smile clear on her face. "Fine. But you have to clean up your toys from the living room first. Pinky promise?"

   As Morgan and Pepper pinky promised, Tony expelled to Riley a weak glare, knowing that it would be impossible to put the youngest Stark down to sleep in an hour or so. He held his hand up to the side of his face, holding up a middle finger at her. He did this so that Morgan would be unable to see the inappropriate motion. Riley just snickered triumphantly and hurled a few french fries at his face.

   As Morgan and Pepper broke off into their own little conversation, Tony took another bite of his burger and asked, "I take it that you two are getting along?"

   "You're a terrible spy," she told him. "But yeah. I think we are."

   "Aren't you happy I didn't make you dance away your nerves to Black Sabbath again?" Tony joked. "Figured you lost your dance skills since the last time."

   Riley's jaw fell agape. "Excuse me?" she fired back. "I kicked your—" She paused, peering back at Morgan before turning her attention to Tony. "I kicked your butt at Just Dance how many times now? Do I need to put you back in your place? Five years is a long time for your ego to grow, after all."

   Tony scoffed. "You don't know what you're asking for."

   "He's right," Pepper chimed in. "We all know I win every single time. You two will just get your feelings hurt."

   This time, Tony and Riley snapped their heads in her direction. Meanwhile, Morgan simply began to drone, "Just Dance! Just Dance! Just Dance!"

   Pepper was about to reply, probably saying that she'd have to stay up way past her bedtime if they wanted to play, but Riley cut in again. "Actually, it'd be a good way to work off that sugar rush," she whispered to her mom. Pepper's eyes lit up at the sound of this, as well as the fact that Morgan and Riley were clearly getting along.

   "Alright, that settles it," Pepper declared. "Clean up, Juice-pops, Just Dance, and then bedtime."

   Morgan shot her tiny fist into the air, cheering victoriously. Riley laughed at the sight, feeling more and more at home.

   Riley could get used to this life.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE:

ok i know yall have seen this already probably, but check this out

ok cute, right? i know, i know. but i'd like you all to consider this addition:

:)))!!!!!

UPDATE I FOUND ONE OF PEPPER KINDA:

i'm just gonna start adding ones i find of the avengers now. look!!

also.......y'all have no idea what's coming. i won't tell you if you should be nervous or what, but you should be nervous.

>:)