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Tony came scampering down the hallway, looking far too pleased with himself.
Clint paused in sipping his drink of water. ‘What did you do?’
‘Nothing.’ Tony smiled sunnily up at him before wrapping himself around Thor’s legs, trying to see the food he was preparing for their day out.
‘Yeah, that doesn’t bode well,’ Natasha murmured from where she had her legs slung over the side of the arm chair.
Thor chuckled, stroking Tony’s hair. ‘You’re just excited for our day out at the park, aren’t you, little warrior?’
‘So excited!’ Tony grinned, beginning to swing off Thor’s leg. He’d turned more playful lately, having that child-like imagination of turning every little thing into a game of sorts. ‘Steve said I can even go on the swings!’
‘My! That shall be grand.’
‘Yeah. I don’t like the slippery dip but he said I can, can ride down on his lap!’
It was still shockingly rare when the older ones took the kids out purely for fun. So, the announcement of going to the park had been met with endless excitement from Tony. Bruce was slowly getting into the spirit of things but hadn’t taken to the thought like Tony, still forever cautious. They were trying to change that ever since Halloween to show him there was joy outside as well.
This was the first excursion since Halloween and Tony was practically bubbling with enthusiasm at getting to go out so soon again. It was hard to believe this was the same little boy a few months ago who had panic attacks when he was taken outside.
They had to make use of the time as well. It was almost the middle of November and New York was due to let some snow start falling. The kids were never allowed out in such cold because they didn’t have warm enough clothes to bundle the little ones up in.
‘I’m leaving Captain America here,’ Tony said, referring to the name he’d given to his stuffed bunny from that Peggy girl. Bruce had yet to name his teddy bear, too shy and scared he’d get the ‘wrong’ name. No one had managed to convince him that was impossible as yet. ‘I don’t want him to get lost.’
Thor nodded solemnly. ‘A wise choice.’
‘Steve said the same thing.’
Clint couldn’t help but agree as well. If they lost that rabbit, the breakdown would be terrible to see. Tony loved his toy.
Almost as much as Bruce. Whenever Tony woke up before him, one of the older ones would slip the teddy bear in next to the toddler. The furry presence allowed Bruce to be able to get a few extra minutes sleep than Tony, which he needed at his age.
Speaking of which, he was still in bed. Clint couldn’t help but think it was getting a bit late. Bruce didn’t tend to sleep in this long after Tony had gotten up, stuffed bear or not.
Clint’s previous question for Tony was finally answered when Steve called down the hallway.
‘Could someone get me some clothes? I’m in the shower and they’ve disappeared again.’
Tony burst into giggles and Clint couldn’t help but join him.
Natasha rolled her eyes. ‘Which one’s the child again?’
‘Oh, come on,’ he insisted and gave Tony a thumb’s up. ‘That was a good one.’
Tony was all smiles, glancing up at Thor to see what he thought of the prank.
‘Very clever,’ Thor chuckled, deep blue eyes twinkling with amusement. ‘As long as the prank is relegated to Steven.’
In fact, most pranks had been directed at Steve, since he was the person Tony was the most comfortable with. It had been a new thing of Tony’s, showing a distinctly cheeky side they had all known was there but rarely showed its head.
Needless to say, no one was put out by it. The pranks were harmless and more often than not, pretty funny. Clint nearly had a fit when Steve woke up with clown make-up courtesy of the leftover paint from Halloween. Tony showed an impressive stealth to not have woken the oldest.
‘I got it,’ Clint called before putting out his hand for a high-five from Tony, which he happily gave. ‘Where are the clothes, squirt?’
‘On the cot.’ A brief expression of worry came over Tony’s face, his old fears rearing their ugly heads. ‘We’re still going to the park today, yeah?’
‘Of course!’ Thor jumped in, picking Tony up to place on his shoulder, gaining a gasp of wonder from the little boy. ‘From such a grand prank, we are all in the mood to have fun, are we not?’
‘Hear, hear,’ Natasha crooked her finger at Tony. ‘I also have a great idea for a prank on Steve.’
Tony’s chestnut brown eyes sparkled mischievously, his worries forgotten.
‘Who’s the child now?’ Clint taunted.
He laughed as he dodged the shoe Natasha threw at him, jogging down the hallway.
They were able to be more raucous this morning with Bruce still sleeping in.
It was still surprising to Clint. With the amount of noise going on, Bruce really should have woken up by now. He was a notoriously light sleeper.
Clint was hoping the more comfortable he got, maybe the easier he would sleep.
Something was pinging in the back of his head though this wasn’t the case but he stubbornly pushed it away.
He was spending too much time with Steve and beginning to become a worry-wart as well.
‘Someone order some clothes?’ Clint asked, tapping on the curtain which separated the bathroom from the rest of the bedroom area.
‘Where did he put them this time?’ Steve’s wet hand blindly reached around the curtain.
Clint briefly entertained himself by snatching the clothes just out of Steve’s reach until the oldest groaned, ‘For God’s sakes, Clint, it’s cold!’
Gasping in exaggeration at the language, Clint handed over the clothes. ‘He put them on the cot.’
He could hear Steve snorting.
Clint rocked from foot to foot. ‘Actually, he asked if we were still going to the park. Y’know, after he pulled the prank?’
There was silence for a moment and Steve pulled the curtain back, wearing only jeans. His shirt was slung over his shoulder. Hair still dripping, the water made it more of a golden blonde rather than its lighter colour.
‘He did?’ he asked, a little worry line appearing in the middle of his forehead.
‘He didn’t seem too worried but you know how he hides it.’
Steve raised an eyebrow at him and Clint couldn’t help but feel like a little kid all over again at receiving that look.
‘Doesn’t remind me of anyone, Clinty,’ he said drily, ruffling Clint’s hair.
Clint shoved him off, rolling his eyes. ‘Get off.’
Smirking in a way Clint wasn’t thrilled with, Steve gave a two-fingered salute. ‘I’ll get him sorted and you get the baby ready?’
‘Done and done.’
Giving a brief stretch as Steve walked away, a soft smile swept over Clint’s face as he crept over to the cot. The covers were lumped up higher, courtesy of the teddy bear.
‘Bub-Bub,’ he cooed, gently pulling some of the coats and blankets back. ‘It’s just Clinty, honey. Time to get up, huh? Ready for a fun day with your big brother?’
Usually, he never referred to himself as Clinty. But Bruce was taking to the nickname. And, of course, when it came to Bruce, there was literally nothing Clint ever denied him if it could be given.
Clint’s smile dropped as he finished pulling the covers back.
Miserable blood-shot eyes blinked up at him. Bruce’s nearly black curls were matted against his forehead in glistening sweat. Despite his oversized clothes, Clint could see the shivers shaking the toddler’s body. Two lines of snot ran underneath his rounded nose. A cough escaped his chest along with a tiny cry.
‘Oh, Bub-Bub, that looks like an awful cold,’ Clint soothed, immediately wrapping the baby in a blanket, leaving the bear behind. ‘I thought your voice sounded a little huskier than usual last night. I’m so sorry, I should’ve checked on you earlier.’
Bruce whined at the movement but as soon as Clint finished swaddling him, he reached out a hand, clamping it open and closed.
‘Don’t have to ask me twice, Bub-Bub.’ Clint lifted Bruce into his arms, mindful his body might be achy.
His suspicion was confirmed as Bruce’s whine turned more into a moan. He was also gasping pitifully through his mouth, showing his nose was stuffed up. Luckily though, his breathing didn’t seem shallow. So while it may be a horrible cold, it probably wasn’t any chest infection.
Clint didn’t know what he’d do if that was the case. Some pretty quick thinking and hard-core scamming probably.
‘You poor little thing,’ Clint murmured in sympathy, kissing the sweaty curls. ‘You should’ve called out, tiger.’
It hit Clint in a deeply wrong way Bruce had obviously been awake for a while but simply lay awake in sickness but silence.
‘Don’t you worry, Bub-Bub.’ Clint went to bounce Bruce but thought better of it. Instead, he ran light fingers up and down the bundle in his arms. ‘Clinty’s going to make things better.’
He walked steadily into the lounge area to find Steve mercilessly tickling Tony in his lap. Tony’s bright chuckles filled the room and helped make Clint brighten back up.
Thor was the first one who spotted him and frowned.
‘What’s wrong with Älskling?’ he asked, coming over to place a large, gentle hand on Bruce’s back.
Clint grimaced. ‘He’s got a cold.’
Natasha’s eyes shot to them. ‘Oh, my poor lapushka,’ she soothed, racing over to run gentle hands through Bruce’s hair. ‘Why didn’t you say you were feeling unwell?’
Bruce blinked blearily up at Natasha. ‘Sestrichka?’ he mumbled and went to suck on his fingers. However, he couldn’t breathe through his nose so began to cry when he couldn’t self-soothe the way he normally did.
‘Oh, oh, oh,’ Thor sang from the side. ‘Sweetheart, there’s no need for tears. You have the best healers in the land here. You will feel better in no time at all.’
‘I’ll take his temperature.’ Natasha was already on the move, going to the cupboard where they stocked up for times like these.
Well. They did now. Ever since Natasha fell sick not long after they escaped to the streets and nearly scared them all to death with how ill she got.
Steve frowned, pausing in tickling Tony to cradle him absently. ‘Baby boy’s sick?’
‘Sick?’ Tony sat up, all laughter gone from his face, replaced with the deepest of concern.
‘Just a cold,’ Clint calmed him. ‘Nothing serious, Bub.’ He glanced at Steve. ‘I don’t think it would be a good idea for him to be out in the cold air though.’
Before Steve could reply, Tony’s hand shot up.
‘I’ll stay home and look after baby,’ he volunteered, not a smidgeon of resentment at losing what had been a special day planned out between them all for a week now.
‘Oh, some of us can still go out, solnyshko.’ Clint knew he wasn’t the only one who melted that bit more for Tony by the way Natasha smiled kindly at the little boy.
Bruce’s temperature was at 100 degrees. Not too bad, but he still must have felt miserable.
‘My malysh,’ Natasha sighed softly.
She reached out to take Bruce from him but blinked in surprise as the baby whined and nuzzled further into the nest Clint had created.
Clint couldn’t resist grinning smugly.
‘All right, all right, get that smile off your face,’ Natasha muttered. However, she still smiled proudly at Bruce for making a choice he wanted rather than what other people wanted him to do.
Clint also couldn’t help but feel proud Bruce wanted to stick with him.
After Halloween, in which Clint had nearly joined the toddler in his breakdown after receiving the toys, he couldn’t help but feel Bruce was seeking him out even more than before. Clint wasn’t quite sure why but all he knew was, he loved it.
Tony watched the whole exchange from his spot on Steve’s lap before frowning. ‘But I can help,’ he said, a little less sure of himself than before as he glanced up at Steve.
‘We know you can, baby,’ Steve smiled kindly down at the boy, ruffling his hair. ‘But Natasha’s right. We promised you a special day and we aren’t going back on that.’
‘But I wouldn’t think you’d broken your promise. Bubba’s sick.’
Steve sighed in helpless fondness. ‘I know you wouldn’t. But truthfully, I think Bruce would prefer you to have a nice day out. Don’t you?’
Tony nodded slowly at this. ‘I guess,’ he muttered, obviously still not completely convinced at leaving his baby in his time of need.
‘How about this?’ Clint proposed. ‘You help me get some medicine into him then you can all head out?’
‘All?’ Steve asked, raising an eyebrow, echoed in perfect unison with Natasha.
Clint rolled his eyes. ‘Yes, all.’ He cuddled Bruce close to him. ‘Trust me, guys, I’ve got this.’
‘Good luck with selling that one,’ Thor muttered under his breath.
Unfortunately, he had a point; Steve was already looking downright horrified at the thought of leaving Clint basically all by himself.
Seriously, Clint was fifteen. And this was Bruce. He had this. God, Clint had helped care for the others enough times when they were sick to know how to do this.
Leaning close, Clint whispered in Natasha’s ear, ‘The more people who go, the more likely Tony will have a great day and not spend it worrying about Bruce. Besides,’ he leaned back to look Natasha in the eye, ‘I’ve got this, Nat.’ His gaze turned slightly begging. ‘Trust me, all right?’
Natasha watched him intently for a moment. Then, she gave a slight nod.
Clint felt like he’d won a million bucks. ‘Awesome.’ He jerked his head to Steve. ‘Now go convince worry-wart over there.’
‘Hey!’
‘Oh, it’s not like it’s not true.’ Natasha smiled at Tony. ‘Why don’t you help Clint with baby while I chat to Steve?’
‘Okay!’ Tony leaped down and bounced at Clint’s legs. ‘What can I do, Clint, what can I do?’
Poor Bruce winced at the noise but other than that, didn’t complain at all.
‘Could you get me a damp cloth and some new clothes for him?’
Tony was off like a shot.
Thor chuckled, already reaching for the cough medicine and children’s Nurofen.
‘Such a sweet, little warrior.’
‘And hypo,’ Clint grinned, sitting in the one kitchen chair they had and held the corner of his shirt to Bruce’s nose. ‘Blow, Bub-Bub.’
Bruce obediently did what he was told but went into a fit of coughs, wincing as he did.
Thor grimaced in sympathy, kneeling down next to him with two small, plastic cups of medicine. ‘Your throat hurts, doesn’t it, Älskling?’
Bruce blinked tiredly at Thor, taking his medicine without a word of complaint. Though, when the taste hit him, he burst into more tears.
Natasha appeared next to them with a bottle.
‘Sestrichka,’ Bruce sniffled up at her, reaching out a hand. As though worried he’d offended her by not going to her before.
‘You stay right where you are comfortable, my malysh,’ Natasha cooed, holding the bottle up to his lips. ‘That’s all that matters right now. We can have our cuddle time later.’
Clint could feel the tension leave Bruce’s body at hearing Natasha wasn’t upset with him. He smiled tearily up at her as he took a few sucks but had to stop to be able to breathe through his mouth again.
‘Poor little guy,’ Steve murmured, coming over to kneel next to Clint. Then, he glanced meaningfully up at him.
Clint sighed. ‘I’ve got this, Steve. Really I have.’
Steve frowned. ‘You don’t have anything to prove, Clint.’
He couldn’t help but blush a tiny bit that Steve had read him. Yeah, he had felt a little helpless lately, breaking down a lot with the small ones. In the tougher times when some old stories were coming to the surface, Clint had been falling apart. And in those tougher times, the others were rising to the occasion.
While that was part of the reason Clint wanted to do this, it wasn’t the only reason.
‘I know,’ he murmured. At Steve’s raised eyebrow, he couldn’t help but blush deeper and squirm. ‘Okay, but that’s not the only reason.’
‘But it’s part of it?’
Clint sucked his lips. ‘Yeah, a bit.’ Before Steve could say more, he jumped in. ‘But I know Tony’s been looking forward to today so much.’ He glanced down at Bruce and found huge honeyed brown eyes watching him. There was something so small and sweet in them that something inside Clint’s chest swelled. He brushed a kiss over the pudgy lips.
‘Besides,’ he murmured, smiling softly before glancing back up at Steve. ‘I’ve got this under control.’ He patted Bruce’s backside. ‘Haven’t I, Bub-Bub? What do you say? A day of just you and me, us guys, kicking it and partying?’
Bruce simply nuzzled into his chest, eyes closing. He actually appeared to doze off.
‘Maybe more kicking it than partying,’ Clint shrugged sheepishly.
Steve watched him quietly for a moment before holding up an index finger. ‘If you think for one minute that you can’t handle it—’
‘I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think I could,’ Clint cut in.
Steve rubbed his face before giving a nod. ‘We’re only going to go out for three hours. And I’m coming home in between to check on you.’
‘I don’t need to be …’ his voice trailed off at the stern look he received. ‘Oh, fine.’
‘And you and I are having a talk later about thinking you have to make up for having feelings.’
Clint groaned. ‘Oh, Steve—’
‘You want to have that talk now?’
‘No,’ Clint murmured sullenly.
Steve’s stance softened. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to Clint’s forehead, knowing Clint didn’t have a free hand to push him away.
‘I’m fifteen.’
Steve shrugged indifferently.
Thor couldn’t resist nudging his shoulder. ‘Aw, you’re adorable.’
‘Shut up, Thor.’
‘Hey, we don’t tell each other to shut up. Especially in front of the baby.’
Thor had the decency to appear bashful while both he and Clint managed a muttered apology.
Meanwhile, Bruce squirmed a bit so he could peer up at Steve as though just realizing he was there.
‘S’eve,’ he said softly.
Clint didn’t know how one minute, Steve could look like the scariest dude ever then the next, the biggest softie to exist. He kneeled back down, taking Bruce’s little hand in his large one, giving the palm a kiss.
‘You’re not feeling very well, are you, my baby boy?’
For the first time, Bruce nodded to the question.
‘Sick,’ he said.
‘Tell you what,’ Steve said. ‘Remember that we were going to go out today?’
‘For bwother and me,’ Bruce murmured.
A kind smile curved onto Steve’s mouth. ‘That’s right. Well, since you don’t feel well, me, sestrichka, Thor and your big brother are only going to go out for a little bit. Just so Tony can get a bit of fresh air, okay? But when we come back, we’re going to have a nice present for you.’
For the first time that morning, Bruce actually smiled. ‘Weally?’
Steve gave him a loud kiss, gaining a weak chuckle. ‘Really, really. Now. Is it all right if Clint takes care of you for three hours?’
This was one thing Clint really did love about Steve. He never didn’t ask anyone what they thought of something. He always made sure everyone was comfortable with every plan, all feelings considered.
A lot of Clint’s hero worship was most definitely still there for Steve. No wonder. He was kind of awesome, even if he could be so damn embarrassing sometimes.
Bruce stared up at Clint like he couldn’t believe he was so lucky. ‘Clinty stays?’
Clint leaned down and gave Bruce another kiss. ‘You betcha, tiger. Just you and me for a few hours. What do you say?’
Bruce simply nuzzled into Clint’s chest.
Steve chuckled. ‘I think that answers our question.’
Within another minute, Tony appeared with Clint’s requested items.
‘Got the stuff for baby,’ he announced proudly.
‘Good boy, Tony.’ Clint beckoned him over with a quirk of his head. ‘Sit them on the table for me?’
As Tony did as he was asked, his anxious chestnut brown eyes stayed on Bruce. ‘Bubba’s going to get better?’
‘Of course, buddy!’ Steve smiled lightly, though the worry line increased more on his forehead that Tony jumped to the worst case scenario straight away. ‘Clint’s going to stay home with him while we go out for a bit, all right?’
Tony’s eyes turned sad. ‘But I don’t want to go out without Bubba.’
Steve and Clint exchanged a look. The other part of the problem was Tony didn’t think he deserved to have fun if Bruce wasn’t. A form of self-punishment, something both boys tended to do.
‘But if you go out,’ Steve said, crouching down to Tony’s level, ‘you’ll get to help us get Bruce a nice present.’
Tony’s eyes lit up. ‘I’m getting baby a present?’
‘Yep!’ Steve winked. ‘I’m thinking a couple. What do you think?’
‘I think that’s a great idea,’ Tony gasped before turning to Bruce, speaking a lot gentler, ‘we’re going to get you a present, Bubba!’
Bruce managed to blink his eyes open to smile blearily at his older brother.
‘Poor baby,’ Tony cooed, copying the older ones as he placed a kiss on Bruce’s forehead.
It didn’t take much more convincing after that. Tony was particularly happy at hearing Steve would be checking in throughout the day, effectively shutting down any other argument Clint may have had on that.
Steve didn’t look smug often but when he did, he pulled off the expression a tad too well.
Bruce placidly took all his kiss goodbyes, but finally began to fuss as Steve felt his forehead, showing how sick he was feeling. Clint didn’t think Natasha would’ve been able to walk away if it wasn’t for a very enthusiastic little boy tugging on her hand, talking about all the things they could get for his baby.
It wouldn’t have been easy to do; Clint didn’t know if he could do it himself. But, they all knew this day had been built up too much to Tony for it all to be taken away in one fell swoop. It wouldn’t have been fair and just cemented to the little boy further that his needs always came second.
Besides, putting aside their slightly overprotective instincts, Bruce did only have a cold. A nasty one, but it wasn’t something so serious in which Tony didn’t deserve his day out.
Clint listened as the voices faded, making Bruce’s stuffed up breathing come more to the forefront. He whined crankily, scrubbing clumsily at his face.
‘All right, little guy,’ Clint murmured, using his shirt to wipe Bruce’s nose again. ‘I’m thinking we give you a wipe down to get rid of that sweat funk then change you into some fresh clothes. Sounds like a plan?’
‘Pwan?’ Bruce echoed, rubbing his eye, which was rapidly turning redder.
‘Yep, plan, Bub-Bub.’ Clint gently stopped Bruce from the assault on his poor eye by taking off his shirt.
Bruce’s shivering increased.
‘You poor thing,’ Clint sighed in sympathy. ‘I’ll give you a bath later after the water’s been given a chance to warm up. It’s been a cold morning, hasn’t it, Bub-Bub?’
He kept up his pleasant chatting as he stripped Bruce. The toddler whined now and then but didn’t fuss too much. It was when Clint began to wipe him down with the cloth that he began to cry, pitifully pushing it away from his face as he shivered, sniffled and coughed.
‘Day out really is cancelled for you, tiger.’ Clint stood, wrapping the blanket back around Bruce’s shaking body. ‘Come on, let’s take you to the potty then see if we can get some food into you, huh?’
The first activity went pretty much how Clint envisioned. Bruce didn’t want Clint to stop holding him so sobbed when he was taken to the bathroom. He shivered and squirmed to get back into Clint’s arms as he dressed the toddler and Clint was only too glad to pick him back up again.
He felt Bruce; truthfully, at the moment, he didn’t want to put Bruce down either.
Then, Bruce’s nose was stuffed up and his throat bothering him so he turned away from the bread and bottle Clint offered.
‘Not that I didn’t see it coming, Bub-Bub, but we’ve got to get that appetite back up, huh?’
‘Yucky,’ Bruce whimpered, pointing to himself.
‘Oh, I know, Bub-Bub,’ Clint soothed, using Bruce’s old shirt as a handkerchief to wipe the toddler’s nose again. ‘I’m sorry I can’t take it away from you.’
The brand new clock with the quirky numbers, courtesy of one of Thor’s market thefts, told Clint it had only been twenty minutes since Bruce’s medication.
Hopefully once the baby Nurofen kicked in, the aches and shivers would ease for him to nap off. Maybe after a sleep, Bruce would be more receptive to some food.
In the meantime though, he needed to be occupied.
If it was Natasha, she would have settled the baby down with a book. But, Clint was embarrassed to say, he wasn’t much of a reader. He could do it but wasn’t very good at it. It was something he had been made fun of for in his younger life. He had been for a while in the orphanage as well until Steve and Thor took care of the kids who used to taunt him.
Still though, it was a bit of a sore spot for him.
‘How about the story of Cinderella?’ he asked.
Fairy tales, he could do. He’d memorized most of them as a kid because they used to be told around the campfire at the circus so much. He knew the Brothers Grimm versions and tweaked them for Bruce’s benefit.
Bruce brightened. ‘That’s the one with the mouses?’
Clint didn’t have the heart to correct him; it sounded too damn cute. ‘That’s the one, Bub-Bub.’
Bruce liked stories with princesses but adored any one with animals. It was times like this Clint wished they had a television because Bruce would love to see all the animated cartoons.
It would be like all Christmases in one to the toddler.
‘Yes, pwease,’ Bruce was forever dutifully polite as he snuggled into Clint, giving a cough and shiver.
‘All right then.’ Clint curled up in the armchair Natasha usually claimed or Steve took when he had Tony on his lap. Settling Bruce in the cradle of his arm, he poised the bottle at the toddler’s lips. ‘I’ll start and you try to have a sip for me every now and then. Okay?’
Bruce eyed the bottle warily. ‘A sip?’
‘Yeah, tiger, only a sip.’
Slowly, Bruce nodded at the deal but winced at the movement. The poor thing must have been really achy.
‘Okay. Well, once upon a time, this girl? She worked hard. Like, super hard …’
Throughout the story, Bruce took a couple of swallows from the bottle. Clint noticed him become looser, showing the medication was working. He was almost asleep when he gave this tiny sneeze, eyes blinking wide in surprise, like he couldn’t figure out where the sound came from.
Clint couldn’t help his soft laughter.
‘You are just too cute, you know that?’ he murmured, wiping Bruce’s nose. ‘Blow.’
Bruce weakly did as he was told and didn’t cough this time. His shivering had also gone down.
When the bottle was half gone, Clint sat it down and picked Bruce up, finishing the story while walking him.
Before Clint even had the last words out, Bruce was fast asleep on his shoulder. His breathing was heavier than usual but he was finally settled.
‘Victory,’ Clint murmured.
He decided he wasn’t game to lay Bruce down on the cot in case he woke up again. Well, that and he still didn’t want to let his precious package out of his sight yet.
Clint knew what a misery it was to be sick. All you wanted to do was be cuddled and cared for. And he was certainly going to do that for Bruce. Besides, he wanted to know instantly if there were any changes.
Going into the bedrooms, Clint managed to lie down with Bruce on his chest with minimal bumps.
He hadn’t planned on joining Bruce in nap time. After all, it was only eleven o’clock.
Still though, the next time he opened his eyes, he found Steve watching him far too fondly for someone Clint’s age.
‘You now have a four-year-old and seven-year-old to mother-hen to your heart’s content,’ he grumbled groggily. ‘You don’t need me as well.’
Steve ignored him and brushed non-existent strands of hair from his forehead. He should have complained but it actually felt nice to his sleep-addled brain.
‘You both look pretty settled.’
Clint glanced down to see Bruce still sound asleep, one finger hooked in his open mouth.
‘What time is it?’
‘Twelve.’ At Clint’s incredulous look, Steve bashfully rubbed the back of his neck. ‘I came back a bit early to check up on you.’
‘Worry-wart. How’s squirt?’
Steve smiled proudly. ‘He actually played with some other kids in the park.’
Clint sighed in relief. ‘Damn, that’s good to hear.’
After the few months Tony had, he really needed to catch a break. It was great to hear it seemed to be happening.
‘You better get back to him. You can report to Nat and Thor the baby’s doing well. I’ve got it under control here.’
This time, Steve’s proud smile was directed at him. ‘Yeah. Yeah, you do.’
Clint thought he did well to hold back his blush. Well, he thought he did. By Steve’s knowing look as he left, the oldest had probably seen through him.
No shocker there either.
It was another half hour before Bruce stirred. And it wasn’t a peaceful stirring either. The toddler got into a coughing fit, which woke him right up and had him in tears. He was also clutching and pulling at his arms, looking at Clint beggingly through confused, tearful eyes.
‘Oh, Bub-Bub, are the aches getting worse?’ Clint cradled Bruce as he slowly sat up with the baby. ‘Come on. I’ll give you some more medicine then we’re going to try a bath.’
On the way out, Clint felt Bruce’s forehead. ‘And we’re taking your temperature again too.’
Poor Bruce. He was completely and utterly done. He never, ever actively fought against anything the others needed to do, like wash his face or take his hand.
Now though? He turned his head this way and that, trying to avoid the medicine, hacking on it pitifully when Clint managed to get the cough then the Nurofen liquid down.
‘No, no,’ he cried as Clint got out the thermometer and didn’t Clint just feel like scum when he heard that?
‘I’m sorry, Bub-Bub, but I need to know if your fever has gotten worse,’ he murmured regretfully.
He began to miss the others dreadfully as he felt that familiar choking up through his throat when Bruce began to sob harder. The toddler’s nose began to run even more, a cough now and then interrupting his cries.
Sighing, he stuck the thermometer in his pocket. ‘C’mon, my Bub-Bub. Let’s try a bath to settle your aches then see about your temperature, huh?’
Bruce didn’t even hear him, shivering and pulling at his arms as Clint carried him back into the bedrooms.
Pulling back the shower curtain, Clint was pleased to feel hot water coming out of the tap when he began to fill the sink.
‘This’ll make you feel better, little guy,’ he whispered.
He didn’t sit Bruce on the cot to undress him but instead, sat on the floor with Bruce on his lap.
Bruce blinked in confusion as his shirt was taken off him for the second time that day but was too upset to ask what was happening.
As always, the sight of the marks on Bruce’s bare skin made Clint choke up more. But, he took a deep breath and picked the baby back up. Bruce’s skin felt warm to touch but in truth, wasn’t too bad. It was the shivers which worried Clint the most, along with how he kept pulling at his arms, crying up at Clint, as though begging him to make it better and why was it all hurting?
Per routine, Clint took a handful of the water and sprinkled it over Bruce’s skin to get him used to the different sensation.
However, at the feeling, Bruce shivered more, his wails increasing.
‘Oh, Bruce, please don’t cry,’ Clint begged. ‘It’ll make it better. Just trust me, all right?’
Realizing Bruce was too far distraught to respond, Clint took another deep breath and gently submerged Bruce’s body into the warm water.
For a brief second, he worried he made the worst mistake ever. Bruce, who had been reaching frantically for him as soon as he shifted the toddler away, went stiff as a board. Even his cries stuttered, red, sore-looking eyes huge and shocked.
Then, like magic, Bruce melted, whole body going limp. Thank god Clint had been holding him like one would a baby—one hand on his crown of curls while the other rested on his back—otherwise Bruce would have went underwater.
Clint couldn’t help half-laughing, half-crying in relief. ‘Oh, that’s it, that’s it, Bub-Bub!’ He resisted cuddling the toddler to him. ‘See, see? Oh, that feels good, doesn’t it, tiger? Make all those yucky aches go away.’
Bruce gave a little sigh, eyes closing briefly. Then, he opened them to smile gratefully up at Clint.
Clint knew he went full on Steve as he cooed, ‘Yes, yes, my sweet little guy, all better now. All better,’ in one of those sickly sweet voices Steve tended to use with the tiny ones.
Strangely uncontrollable action. He’d have to stop giving Steve such a hard time over it.
Bruce actually fell asleep again in the bath. Clint held him safely even though his arms ached in that position. It was just amazing to see Bruce totally at ease.
Finally though, he had to take the baby out when the water became lukewarm.
Thankfully, the medication must have kicked in by then because while Bruce did fuss a little, he settled when Clint shushed him.
‘Let’s get you all nice and cosy then maybe try for some lunch, huh?’
‘Hmm,’ Bruce sighed softly, eyes at half-mast as Clint lay him down on the cot, wrapped in a thread-bare towel.
When Clint went to step away though, he began to fuss again, tears rolling down his face.
‘I’m not going, little guy.’ Clint immediately stepped back in his line of sight with some new clothes. Well, new being a term used rather loosely. A holey green sweater and an old pair of Natasha’s shorts which could be used as tracksuit pants on Bruce. ‘Just got you some clothes, see?’
Bruce simply clamped his palms open and closed at Clint.
He grinned. ‘In two tics, okay?’
As he began to dry Bruce down, he was struck with an idea.
Gently, he began to rub a circle in Bruce’s back.
The toddler hummed in happiness at the feeling.
Clint’s smile lit up his face. ‘Does that make the ache better, Bub-Bub?’
He didn’t expect an answer so was thrilled when Bruce actually gave a soft, ‘Uh-huh.’
Slowly, as Clint dried him, he massaged the toddler’s legs, arms and back, dressing him as he went along. By the time he was done, Bruce was practically a pile of goo, relaxed and content. Still though, at seeing Clint’s hands empty, he reached up again.
‘All right, cuddle-bug,’ Clint laughed, lifting him back up. On second thought, he grabbed the teddy bear too, tucking it underneath his arm, before pulling out the thermometer. ‘Want to try this again?’
This time, Bruce obediently opened his mouth, which broke Clint’s heart a little. It showed how absolutely miserable and out of it the poor toddler must have been to fight him so hard earlier.
Thankfully, the thermometer showed 100.1, so not dangerous. A bit higher than earlier but Clint was putting that down to the bath more than anything.
‘Oh, thank god,’ he murmured.
Relief whooshed through him. He’d really started to worry there with the way Bruce had gone, thinking his Bub-Bub was a lot sicker than he initially suspected.
Going back into the lounge area, he settled down on the couch, cuddling Bruce swaddled in his blanket.
Lunch time could wait for a bit. At the moment, Clint needed cuddle time just as bad as Bruce did.
Bruce didn’t complain, stumpy hands latching onto Clint’s shirt.
Closing his eyes, Clint breathed in the baby scent Bruce still had and set a gentle rhythm patting the toddler’s backside.
He thought Bruce had dozed off again so he was surprised when he heard his husky little voice whisper, ‘I’m sowwy … sorry.’
‘Sorry?’ Clint echoed, tucking in his chin to look down at Bruce. ‘Sorry for what, Bub-Bub?’
Bruce wouldn’t meet Clint’s eye as he ran his little fingers over the button on Clint’s shirt. ‘You didn’t go on the nice day out.’ His eyes teared up. ‘You had to stay here with me. It was ruined.’
‘Hey, hey,’ Clint soothed, lifting Bruce up so they were face to face. ‘Listen to me, Bub-Bub, and this is the truth.’ He used his thumb to wipe away Bruce’s tears. ‘I would gladly miss a million days out if I got to spend them with you, okay?’
Bruce’s mouth dropped open. ‘A mil … a million?’ he gasped.
God, Clint loved him. He was still so little and even with everything he’d been through, there was something distinctly undamaged about Bruce. Something all the abuse hadn’t taken away, a gentle wonder which was distinctly Bruce.
‘A million,’ Clint reiterated, eyes sparkling at the special toddler in front of him.
Bruce smiled shyly before bashfully tilting his face up for a kiss.
Clint would never get tired of the affection he got to show and received from the toddler.
‘Mwah!’ He gave the kiss with an extra loud sound.
Bruce burst into giggles before his coughs stopped him. ‘That’s what … um … bwother does.’
‘Does he?’
‘Yeah,’ Bruce nodded seriously.
‘Your brother is funny, isn’t he?’
‘Vewy.’
Clint smiled at Bruce’s growing enthusiasm. He wanted to keep it going rather than trying to force lunch on him yet.
Remembering Bruce’s toy, he plucked the teddy bear from underneath his arm. ‘Hey, Bub-Bub? Would you like to name your teddy?’
Bruce immediately cuddled into his toy. ‘You can if you want,’ he deflected politely.
‘You know,’ Clint said, running his fingers through Bruce’s curls. ‘Any name you come up with I bet I’ll love.’
The toddler’s fingers absently pulled at the fur. ‘What about, uh …um …’
He blushed, looking away, sometimes embarrassed at how hard it was for him to get words out.
Clint brushed a kiss over his forehead. ‘I can guarantee the others will love it too. And that way, Tony will know what to call it in your games.’
Tony would love that his Captain America rabbit would have an officially named playmate. Clint hadn’t gotten the meaning behind the name until Bruce couldn’t pronounce it so Tony said Bruce could simply call it Cap.
Steve had practically floated the entire day.
The thought of making his games easier with Tony rather than his older brother shouting Teddy all the time intrigued Bruce.
‘Do you have any ideas?’ he asked.
‘Well, I tell you what? You suggest three first and if you can’t decide out of that, then I’ll suggest three.’
Clint feared that if he gave an idea, Bruce would simply accept it as gospel and not come up with what he wanted.
Bruce gave a little sigh of relief he only had to come up with three. Choices tended to overwhelm him so he liked to have things limited at times.
‘Um … do you like, uh … uh,’ Bruce’s fingers ran over the fur, ‘Fluffy?’
‘I do!’ Clint brushed his fingers over the teddy bear as well. ‘It suits him, doesn’t it?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Definitely.’
Bruce grinned, spurred on. ‘Or … or,’ he frowned and leaned close to whisper in Clint’s ear, ‘can it be a girl?’
He smiled softly. ‘It can be anything you want, Bub-Bub.’
Bruce smiled radiantly up at him. ‘So it could be a, a … Becky?’
A lump appeared in Clint’s throat as he realized where the name was derived from. He cuddled Bruce tighter. ‘Yep. I think Becky is very pretty.’
Bruce cocked his little head to the right then left, biting his bottom lip. Then, his eyes lit up. He held the teddy bear up to Clint. ‘Can I pwease call him Happy?’
Clint took the teddy bear and nodded. ‘I think that is perfect, Bub-Bub.’
‘Weally?’
‘Of course.’ He gently handed the teddy bear back to Bruce who cuddled him gleefully. ‘Can I ask why you called him that?’
‘Well,’ Bruce’s fingers went back to playing with the fur, ‘he gives me good cuddles and, and, um, he makes me feel safe and, h-happy.’ Honeyed brown eyes glanced shyly up at him as Bruce hunched down, mumbling, ‘L-Like you.’
Clint suddenly understood why Steve cried a lot when he was so happy.
Bruce saw the tears straight away. Too weak to get his balance on Clint’s lap, he stretched his hand up to clumsily wipe away the teenager’s tears.
‘There, there, Clinty,’ he said in his best soothing voice, interrupted with a cough here and there. ‘You don’t have to cwy.’
He understood the concept now of crying when happy but still didn’t like to see it in progress and felt he had to comfort in some way.
Clint simply shook his head in amazement and pulled Bruce to him. ‘Love you, my Bub-Bub.’
Bruce smiled up at Clint. ‘Love you too, Clinty.’
The words were so easy for him. They had been for a long time. Sometimes, it was hard to believe this was a child whose love people had tried to take from him with anger and violence because, god, there was so much in him to keep on giving.
They were still curled up together on the couch when Natasha climbed back through the window.
‘Malysh.’ Her face lit up as she sprinted over to her little boy.
‘Hi, sestrichka,’ Bruce smiled up at her and this time, put out his arms to her, showing he must have been feeling better to be happy to be moved.
Natasha was still gentle though as she took him, looking him over. ‘Oh, lapushka, your poor, little eyes are so red,’ she murmured, pressing her nose in his hair. ‘And you’re a little hot too.’
‘He’s had a bath so he could still be a bit warm from that,’ Clint stood up so he could lay a hand on Bruce’s back. The shivers had all but disappeared, probably a lot thanks to the bath, the massage and the medicine as well.
‘When did he last have some medicine?’
‘Over two hours ago.’
Natasha nodded thoughtfully, rocking with the toddler, pressing kisses to his curls.
‘Clint, Clint, Clint!’
Laughing, Clint held out his arms. ‘Did someone say my name?’
Tony leaped into his arms, shaking a bag in his face. ‘We went to the park, played on the swings, then Steve left and came back, then we went down the slide together, then we got my baby nice presents! Actually plural, Clint! Presents. How’s my baby? Where is he? Bubba! Look! Nice presents!’
Clint didn’t even get a chance to reply as Tony wriggled out of his hold and tugged at Natasha’s pants to reach towards Bruce.
Bruce cooed happily. ‘Bwother.’
‘Hey, baby.’ When Natasha obligingly knelt, Tony proceeded to mother his baby brother, holding his hand thoughtfully to Bruce’s forehead, clucking over how warm he felt and talking in a soft, soothing voice, saying, ‘How’s my baby? My poor baby, all sick.’
‘A little Steven in the making,’ Thor laughed as he crawled in through the window before he smiled widely at Clint, eyes sparkling cheekily. ‘I think he will have more game then our Steven though.’
Clint’s mouth dropped open at the implication. ‘No way? Did Steve try to hit on someone?’
‘Peggy was at the park,’ Natasha said in an impressive English accent as Thor came over and brushed a large hand over Bruce’s hair.
‘Steve didn’t say a whole sentence for ages,’ Tony said innocently as he played with Bruce’s hands, gently drawing patterns in the air with them as the toddler watched on in fascination. He screwed up his nose. ‘It was weird.’
As soon as Steve came through the window, Clint wolf-whistled.
Immediately, Steve’s face went bright red. He glared at Thor. ‘You said you wouldn’t say anything.’
‘You and I both know that I never intended to carry that through.’
‘Peggy Rogers,’ Clint pondered, cocking his head to the side. ‘I don’t know, doesn’t sound quite—hey!’
Steve had grabbed Clint around the waist and slung him under his arm with sickening ease.
At Bruce’s wide-eyed blinking, Steve gave an easy wave. ‘How are you feeling, my baby boy?’
‘Good,’ Bruce said slowly, glancing from Clint’s laughing face to Steve, a slow smile growing on his pudgy lips.
Tony’s eyes widened. ‘Steve? Do you actually love that girl? Like, in the gross kind of way?’
‘Now look what you did,’ Steve muttered to Thor, who didn’t even bother trying to look ashamed, before back turning to Tony. ‘No, buddy. They’re just being silly and teasing.’
Tony didn’t appear quite convinced but let the subject drop for now as he held up his plastic bag. ‘Can we give baby his nice presents now?’
Bruce’s eyes went wide. ‘Pwesents?’ he asked with a cough, squirming a little.
Clint wasn’t the only one who noticed, even though he was looking at things from an odd angle.
‘Bathroom first then presents,’ Natasha announced, holding out a hand to Tony.
‘Tasha!’ Tony blushed but at Natasha’s pointed look, he reluctantly took her hand and followed her down the hallway.
Clint began to wriggle. ‘All right, I’ll stop speaking about your one true love if you put me down.’
Steve didn’t look impressed but sat Clint back on his feet all the same. But not before playfully ruffling his hair.
‘You’re in an embarrassing mood today,’ Clint muttered, brushing a hand through his hair which was growing out from its usual cropped cut.
‘Just today?’ Thor asked rhetorically as he planted himself on the floor.
‘Oh, ha-ha.’ Steve clicked his fingers at Thor. ‘And don’t sit on the concrete. Always on a blanket. It’s not good for your back.’
‘Just proving our point, Steven.’
Steve ignored Thor for the moment as his eyes suddenly centred on Clint.
The teenager didn’t know what he saw but after a moment, Steve’s expression became soft.
‘Did things get a bit hard here at one point?’
That’s when he remembered Steve’s secret magic power.
He could always tell when Clint had been crying.
For a moment, Clint thought about trying to joke it away. But with Steve standing in front of him, with that soft, open look on his face, he suddenly felt tired and in need of his biggest brother.
So, he gave a little nod.
Clint loved he didn’t have to ask. Steve simply came forward and actually lifted him up into a huge hug.
He melted into it. All the stress came back of the day and he couldn’t help but shiver a little as well.
In turn, Steve tightened his hold. ‘I think you and I are in need of a good talk, hmm?’
Clint nodded in the hold. ‘I won’t say no,’ he said softly.
As soon as they heard a pattering of footsteps, Clint squirmed to be put down and Steve reluctantly did so. No one wanted Tony or Bruce to think anything was wrong.
When he was put down, Thor pulled him onto the blanket now on the floor, wrapping his large arms around Clint.
Clint didn’t complain. He just curled up into the warmth of Thor.
‘We’re back,’ Tony announced excitedly, bouncing around Natasha as she came in at a more sedate speed. ‘Time for presents!’
His excitement at getting to give presents showed what a great kid Tony was.
Natasha handed Bruce off to Steve, knowing he would be raring for a hug by now.
‘Hey there, baby boy,’ Steve sang, sitting on the arm chair so Bruce could settle comfortably on his lap. ‘You look better than you did this morning, hmm? Are you ready for your nice presents?’
Bruce blushed at all the attention but Tony’s enthusiasm was infectious so he gave a nod.
‘Can I give the first one?’ Tony begged, holding up the plastic bag he’d been lugging around ever since they’d come back.
‘You may give them all, little warrior,’ Thor laughed from the side.
‘No way!’ Tony gasped, staring open-mouthed at Thor. ‘But I wasn’t even the one who stole them!’
Steve buried his head into his hand in embarrassment while Clint had to swallow back laughter.
This kid, seriously.
‘We still want you to give them, bratishka,’ Natasha managed with a straight face.
Tony bounced on his feet. ‘Thank you so much.’ He dug into the bag, producing a new bottle with a print of Superman on the side. ‘Look, Bubba! A superhero!’
Bruce clapped his hands in delight. ‘Oh, pwetty.’
‘Maybe he should have a drink out of it right now,’ Clint called out.
Natasha got the hint. Not wasting anytime, she washed and fixed the bottle with a mixture of milk and water.
Bruce said a thank you before leaning back into Steve, for once, having some milk without it being forced on him.
A great idea for a present, encouraging him to get some more nutrients.
The next was a second onesie, this one in red.
Bruce already began to pull on his clothes to try it on.
Chuckling indulgently, Steve obliged. Of course, Tony had to help, which made the process a lot longer, but no one cared.
‘Such a handsome baby boy,’ Steve praised as he buttoned up the last button, causing a delighted blush to cross Bruce’s face.
‘The handsomest,’ Tony decided before holding the last present behind his back. ‘Ready, Bubba?’
‘Another one?’
‘Yeah, but this is the last.’
Bruce frowned in worry. ‘But … but,’ he glanced around, ‘no one else got any.’
Tony blinked, as though he couldn’t understand why that was a concern as long as his baby got something. Clint curled that bit further into Thor, needing the comfort, which his older brother obligingly gave.
‘You’re sick, lapushka,’ Natasha explained, kneeling down beside the arm chair. ‘This is a treat because of that.’
‘And we all had a nice day out,’ Steve added, Tony nodding enthusiastically to this.
Bruce bit his bottom lip.
‘But Clinty didn’t get anything,’ he whispered, shoulders hunching, a visual sign of fear whenever he felt he was doing something which deserved a hit. It was more ingrained in him than a voluntary movement, which was worse again because it felt like it was never going to change.
Clint’s heart dropped.
Before he could say anything though, Steve wrapped Bruce in a gentle hug.
‘Don’t you worry about that, baby boy. I have a present for him too.’
Clint blinked. He … had a present? Since when did any of them get anything outside of birthdays?
However, Bruce lit up. ‘Oh, thank you, Steve,’ he said before giving one of his adorable sneezes, eyes going wide at the sound which came out of him.
Steve wiped his nose while Tony sighed from the side, ‘My poor, sick baby.’
‘Little mother-hen,’ Thor murmured to Clint, smiling as he gently jostled his shoulders.
Clint tried to smile back but he was still reeling at the announcement he had a present as well.
The last one was a thick, green blanket, clean, new and unbelievably soft.
‘At an attended market stall,’ Thor said proudly, causing Steve to try to hide his smirk with a shake of his head.
Bruce gasped as his fingers felt the texture. ‘Oh, wow.’ He trembled as he looked up at everyone. ‘T-Thank you. I, I love evewy … everything.’
‘Anything for our baby boy,’ Steve leaned down to gently pepper his face with kisses, gaining a few giggles, but unfortunately, they were taken over with coughs.
‘Come here, lapushka,’ Natasha gently took the toddler into her arms. ‘Let’s put this blanket on the cot, get some lunch into you then naptime again.’
‘I don’t have to do the last one, right?’ Tony asked.
Thor laughed, giving Clint’s shoulder a squeeze before standing as well. ‘Come, little warrior. Let’s help. Shall we race?’
Tony didn’t say a word; he just took off and Thor ran after him at a much slower pace. Bruce watched the interaction with wide eyes but relaxed as Natasha began to pat his backside.
‘Careful, the both of you,’ Steve called after them before groaning in exaggeration. ‘I swear, Thor is as bad as the seven-year-old.’
‘And you’re as bad as a seventy-year-old,’ Clint grinned.
‘Oh, hush you.’ Then, Steve patted his knee.
Clint blushed. ‘Steve, I’m too old for that,’ he muttered, trying to keep the longing out of his face.
It had been one of the safest he’d felt in a long time when Steve had sat him on his lap during Halloween. He wasn’t about to say that though.
Steve simply snorted while patting his knee again. ‘C’mere please, Clinty.’
Blushing deeper, Clint glanced once at the hallway before finally listening, crawling up onto his biggest brother’s lap.
‘There we go,’ Steve murmured, wrapping an arm around his waist and lifting him further on. ‘Ready for your present?’
Clint didn’t know what to say, so he just nodded.
He didn’t know what he expected. Maybe something cool from the trash Steve had seen. Or even something for the kids Clint would have fun with playing with them.
What he didn’t expect was a digital watch with an awesome dark purple strap.
‘How did you …’ he whispered, taking it delicately from Steve’s hand.
Steve winked. ‘Lifted it off some guy’s wrist.’ He shook his own watch on his wrist. ‘Not as flash as the one you got me but still. I thought you’d like that one. It suits you.’
‘It’s so, so cool,’ Clint breathed, letting Steve strap it on his wrist. ‘I’ve never had anything like this, Steve.’ He stared up at his oldest brother. ‘Like … like ever.’
‘Well,’ Steve ruffled his hair, ‘now you do. I wish I could give you more, Clinty, I really do.’ He smiled sadly, shrugging one shoulder. ‘Maybe one day, hmm?’
Clint found himself swallowing thickly, rubbing at his eyes. ‘You’re just … you’re really cool, you know that?’
Steve nicked him underneath the chin. ‘Love you too, Clint.’
Clint laughed, falling into the hug Steve offered. ‘Yeah. Yeah, love you.’
He allowed himself to stay curled there until Tony came running back in. Before he had a chance to hop up, Tony launched himself onto the both of them.
‘Me too!’ he laughed.
‘You are hypo today,’ Clint laughed, helping him up so he was on Steve’s other knee. ‘Did Thor sneak you a cookie or something?’
Tony simply held a finger up to his lips, smiling in delight at his ‘secret’.
‘What a surprise,’ Steve said drily but anyone could tell he wasn’t upset in the least.
Speaking of which, Thor came back in, now with Bruce in his arms. The baby always looked so tiny when being held by Thor with his large hands, almost the size of Bruce’s head alone.
‘Poor Älskling,’ he murmured. ‘He’s shaking again.’
‘Medication must be wearing off,’ Natasha said. ‘We’ll give him some with his lunch.’
Clint frowned curiously. ‘What is for lunch?’
‘Hotdogs.’ At Clint’s dropped mouth, Natasha smirked. ‘Unattended market stall.’
‘Christ, you are good.’
‘Language,’ Steve chided gently, causing Clint to roll his eyes.
That’s when he saw Bruce’s teddy bear on the floor.
‘Hey, Bub-Bub,’ he called, holding up the toy. ‘Want to tell everyone what you named your teddy bear?’
‘You named it?’ Tony gasped in delight. ‘What is it, what is it?’
Bruce shivered in Thor’s arms, glancing once around at everyone unsurely. When all he saw was encouragement, he took one finger out of his mouth to softly say, ‘Happy.’
Natasha’s full smile lit up her face. ‘Lapushka, that’s wonderful.’
‘So very fitting,’ Thor agreed.
‘I love it,’ Steve smiled softly while Tony declared, ‘Best name ever.’
Bruce squirmed in delight at the reception but began to cough again.
‘Poor sweetheart,’ Thor murmured, patting his back and wiping his nose. ‘Don’t you worry. We shall make you feel better.’
Bruce smiled up at Thor, for once, no doubt or worry in him at such statements.
Some things which had been involuntary in Bruce, such as always distrusting any sort of adult, had changed.
So, maybe, the other things, like the shying away, scared of speaking too much and night-time terrors, would too.
All Clint could do was hope.
As he watched Bruce allow himself to be given medicine, even eating half of the hotdog Thor fed to him like a baby bird, Clint felt his hope grow stronger.
He curled into Steve, eating his own hotdog, feeling pretty content and safe himself.
He didn’t need more things in the future, like Steve hoped for them. All he needed was this.
His family.