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“I just have one question,” said Phil, looking over the folder in his hands before finding the page he needed. “What does it mean ‘partially paralyzed’? I mean, in understand the concept but what exactly should we know before he arrives?”
“Well, one of the reasons I think you’ll be the best placement for him is because of your experience with children with medical needs. You’ve been wonderful with Steve and Bucky. Your house being all on one level is perfect and having Clint working from home is ideal for caretaking when needed.”
“Yes, that’s great, but is this child in a wheelchair? Because we’ll have to rearrange some of the furniture if that’s the case to make the walkways a bit wider.”
“No, most of the time he’s not in a wheelchair most of the time. He uses crutches or sometimes a cane. He has use of most of his lower body, but not his feet or ankles. He has braces that he puts on each day to help him get around and is pretty self sufficient all things considered.”
“When is he arriving?”
“Tomorrow. Any other questions?”
“No, thank you for your time,” sighed Phil. He hung up the phone and went back to work.
Phil and Clint had been thrilled when they got approved to be foster parents. They wanted to adopt and expand their family but they wanted older children, so foster care was the best route. Over their ten years of fostering they had housed multiple children and adopted two of them. This newest addition was also up for adoption and Phil was hoping they would all get along so they could grow their family again.
That evening, Phil arrived home to a loud house and a few boxes of pizza.
“Hey babe!” yelled Clint from the living room where he was helping Steve and Bucky with their homework. “How was work?”
“Fine, I did some work, filed some papers, and talked to Maria,” said Phil, hanging up his jacket in the closet.
“Oh? What did Maria know?”
Phil entered the living room and smiled at his small family. Bucky, fourteen years old, had already taken off his metal arm and set it on the couch. When Bucky had joined their family four years ago he would not have even thought about removing his arm in front of anyone, let alone leaving it out in the open for others to see. Steve was sitting on the floor next to him, finishing a drawing for his art class. Steve, who had come to them two years ago when his mother had died, had gained weight and had less doctors appointments than ever. They were perfect.
“We were just clearing up a few things about our new placement,” said Phil.
“Oh, cool, well we can just talk about that later,” said Clint with an easy smile. “Want some pizza?”
“Yes please,” said Phil.
“Or you could just tell us what’s wrong with this one now instead of lettings us be surprised when it actually arrives,” said Bucky in his usual blunt manner.
“What makes you think there’s something wrong with him?” asked Clint, who was always more calm about how Bucky phrased things than Phil was.
“Because there’s always something wrong with the kids you take in,” said Steve. “I have asthma and get sick like all the time. Bucky doesn’t have an arm. The last three kids you took in – James had diabetes, Wade had like a million burns, and Nebula was bipolar and depressed. So what’s wrong with this one?”
“Yeah, you guys are a sucker for a sob story,” said Bucky.
“And after you took in Bucky you got labeled as the couple that would take the medical cases, so like, tell us.”
Phil sighed and rubbed the back of his neck before he sat down on the light grey couch.
“His name is Tony,” said Phil. “He’s eight and a genius, so he’ll be in high school with you both. He’s partially paralyzed and that’s why I was talking to Maria, so I would know if we needed to widen the walkways in the house.”
“Do we?” asked Clint.
“No, but I think it would be good if we did. He gets around with crutches and a cane most of the time but I guess he does use a wheelchair sometimes, so it’d be good to have the house accessible.”
“Alright, we’ll do that after dinner then,” said Clint with a shrug.
Phil kissed Clint. There was not a man out there that was as amazing as Phil’s husband. Clint was amazing and perfect and Phil was utterly in love. He had been since they met and would continue to be madly in love until the end of time.
The next morning, Phil took the day off of work like he did each time they got a new placement. Steve and Bucky took the bus to school, just like they did every day.
“Waffles or pancakes?” asked Phil, who was a nervous chef.
“Both! And I suppose it’s useless to tell you to calm down since it’s never worked in the past. So drink some coffee, make some pancakes and waffles, and then come hang out with me at the table! Maria will be here with Tony in like a half hour.”
“I just want everything to be perfect,” said Phil.
“You always want it to be perfect and it’s almost always a mess regardless. Trust me, it’ll be fine.”
“But we don’t always get the chance to adopt! Most of the kids we’ve housed have just been temporary, in need of a place to stay for a few months, and I’ve loved every one of them, but Tony could be ours. How cool would that be?”
“We haven’t even met him yet,” chuckled Clint.
“Yeah, but think about how wonderful it will be to actually meet him. I already love him.”
The doorbell rang.
“He’s here!”
“Oh my gosh you’re like a kid on Christmas.”
“The day I stop getting so excited for a new member of the family is the day we stop, remember?”
“I remember.”
After they welcomed Maria and Tony into their house, they watched as Tony crutched himself over to the couch. He was small for an eight year old, his brown hair was a mess of loose curls, and he didn’t say anything while Maria chatted with Phil and Clint.
“Okay Tony, I’ll be back in a couple weeks and you have my number if you need me,” said Maria. “Make good choices and be nice.”
Tony nodded but didn’t look up from where he was studying the room.
“Have fun,” said Maria before she left.
“Alright Tony, well, I thought we could get to know each other better,” said Phil. “Then we’ll give you a tour of the house and have some lunch. Sound good?”
“Okay,” said Tony with a shrug. “Um, so I guess I’ll just start so we can get this over with. I’m Tony Stark, I wasn’t always such a mess but um, my last therapist said it’s because my dad was absent and my mom was a jerk. She’s actually the reason I can’t walk anymore, she pushed me off the second floor balcony when she was drunk and pissed. I get nightmares and I don’t like people. You’re probably going to give me back in like a month so I’m just not going to get attached.”
“Wow,” said Clint after a beat of silence. “You’re a bright little ray of sunshine, aren’t you?”
“Yup,” said Tony, popping the p at the end of the word.
“Well, I’m Clint and my parents died in a car accident when I was twelve. My older brother and I joined the circus to avoid foster care and possibly getting split up and worked there until I was 18 and left for college. That’s where I met Phil and we got married. We’ve been foster parents for over ten years now and have adopted two boys, Steve and Bucky. They are at school right now but you’ll meet them this afternoon and have all weekend to get to know you.”
“And I’m Phil. My parents live in London currently. I don’t have any siblings, which is one of the reasons that I want a big family, because I hated growing up alone. I work for a private organization that basically does types of security for, well, everywhere. I do a lot of paperwork and it’s not super interesting but has generally flexible hours and the ability to work from home if I need. Like Clint said, we have been foster parents for a while and have two sons, Steve and Bucky.”
“So, do I have to share a bedroom or what?” said Tony.
“Nope, you have your own room,” said Clint, standing up. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”
Phil watched as Tony placed his crutches in front of him and then pulled himself up. He then swung himself around and followed Clint around the house while Clint showed him each room.
“This is Bucky’s room, and this one is a bathroom, and this one is Steve’s room,” said Clint, pointing at each in turn. “Steve and Bucky share that bathroom since it connects to both rooms and the hall. The one at the end of the hall is Phil and mine. And this one is yours. The bathroom is across the hall right there.”
“Cool,” said Tony, making his way into the light blue bedroom. The full sized bed had a bright red duvet on it. The walls were mostly empty and the rest of the room was tidy, like an unused guest room.
“We can decorate however you like after you settle in,” said Clint. “Your file didn’t really have any information on your favorite colors or anything.”
“Well, how about in a month if I’m still here we can do that,” said Tony.
“Sounds like a plan,” said Clint. “So in a month we’ll make a trip to the store and get paint and furniture. I’ll go get your bag so you can settle in. Do you need help?”
“I can’t move my feet and ankles, not the rest of my body. I’ll be fine.”
Clint nodded and brought all the things to Tony’s room before saying they had brunch in the kitchen if he was hungry and went to sit with his husband and drink another cup of coffee.
“How’s he doing?” asked Phil, handing Clint a cup of coffee.
“As well as can be expected,” said Clint with a grin. “He’s unpacking right now. Hopefully he’ll be hungry and join us for brunch in a bit. We’ll see.”
Tony didn’t join them for brunch and he didn’t come out for lunch when Clint offered to make him a sandwich. He didn’t actually emerge from his bedroom until Steve and Bucky came home, shouting and demanding a snack.
“Hey, I’m Steve,” said Steve as soon as he saw Tony lurking by the door.
“I’m Tony,” said Tony.
“Come sit down, we’re having a snack,” said Steve. “Since Pops is home we get to have pizza bites instead of carrot sticks!”
“That’s only because you don’t get to have pizza for dinner since I’m here to make you eat a real dinner,” said Phil from the fridge where he was filling a cup with water.
“I’m Bucky,” said Bucky as Tony sat down next to him.
“Woah, that’s such a cool arm!” said Tony, leaning over to get a closer look at Bucky’s metal arm. “Where did you get it? Do you have to get a new one every time you grow or are there attachments that can make it last longer?”
“Um, no, I get a new one as I grow,” said Bucky awkwardly. He didn’t really like to talk about his arm with strangers. “It’s a prototype, so it’s mostly free, just have to deal with bugs and such. It’s not so bad.”
“Cool,” said Tony. “I bet I could make a better one if I had the base designs. Well, not right now, I don’t have any tools or anything, but that’s what I want to do. I’m going to make better prosthetics for people because the ones out there right now suck.”
“Yeah, most of them do,” agreed Bucky with a strained smile. “So, crutches?”
“They’re easier than a cane most of the time and make my braces rub less,” said Tony with a shrug.
“Maybe you just need thicker socks,” said Steve. “I always need thicker socks during winter or my feet turn blue.”
“Thicker socks don’t solve the problem of them sliding down half the time,” said Tony, starting to eat the pizza snacks put in front of him. “They always slide down.”
Phil and Clint quietly stood out of the way while they listened to the boys talking. It wasn’t perfect, Tony clearly didn’t trust them yet, but it could have gone a lot worse. Bucky’s first day he hadn’t even left his room and Steve had actually spent his entire first day in the hospital after a particularly bad asthma attack, so having Tony out, eating, and talking on the first day was a big win and a hopeful indication of what their future could be.