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“How do they feel kiddo?” asked Clint from his chair as he watched Tony walk around the room with his crutches, wearing his new braces.
“Like braces,” said Tony with a shrug. He hated these appointments where he got poked and touched by strangers and ended up still having to wear uncomfortable braces that helped him walk, so he put up with it.
“His socks tend to slip down and then the braces rub,” said Clint when Tony got back up on the table safely. “Are there special types of socks he should get so they stay better?”
“I already use the socks they suggested,” grumbled Tony. “And they suck.”
“Unfortunately, there aren’t specific socks for these braces since they aren’t the most common type needed for long term use,” said the doctor. “And if the ones already listed on your file don’t work I don’t have many suggestions. You could try sports socks, like the baseball kind. They tend to stay up better.”
Tony shook his head and rolled his eyes. He had tried every type of socks there were. Some of them stayed up better than others but nothing worked all of the time. Tony had just resigned himself to a lifetime of sore and rubbed raw legs.
“Well, what do you want to get for lunch?” asked Clint when they were in the car.
“I dunno,” shrugged Tony.
“Well, I know a really good burger place. Let’s go there.”
If there was one thing Clint had learned in the seven months of Tony living with them, it was that Tony hated doctors and loved burgers. Anytime he had to take Tony to an appointment, even if it was just because he had to tag along to Steve’s numerous appointments, they got burgers. The unspoken tradition seemed to help Tony stay calm during the time before.
Throughout lunch Tony was quiet, so Clint followed his lead and said nothing. They ate their burger and fries and then Clint drove them home.
They had moved two months ago into a larger house, still all one level but with an open floor plan. At the back there was a pool that they were all enjoying now that summer had arrived. Clint had sold Phil on the idea by saying it would be good for all of their kids, Bucky to work on swimming with one arm, Steve to be able to build stamina without putting excessive strain on his body, and Tony to work out his legs without the full weight of his body on them. Phil had rolled his eyes, kissed his crazy husband, and agreed.
“We’re back!” yelled Clint when they stepped into the house.
“They boys are out back in the pool,” said Phil from the kitchen where he was working on putting away the last of the dishes and could still keep an eye on his sons in the pool.
“Tony, you want to change and join them?” asked Clint.
“Sure,” said Tony, a real smile on his face.
“Okay. Can you leave your new braces with me and a pair of your socks? I want to see if I can figure something out.”
“Sure.”
Once Tony was out there, Bucky swam over to the edge of the pool.
“You can put your braces by my arm,” said Bucky, pointing to the covered chair near the edge of the pool. “It’s covered so they won’t get hot.”
“Thanks,” said Tony, sitting on the chair and placing his crutches and then braces next to the arm, adding to the strange collection of medical equipment they had acquired, along with Steve’s inhaler.
“How’d your appointment go?” asked Steve as Tony scooted across a towel to slide into the pool.
“Fine. I got new braces, they still have no solution for the socks issue, nothing exciting.”
“Okay, well we were going to play Marco-Polo,” said Bucky.
“Doesn’t Steve kinda have the advantage with having full use of both legs and both his arms?” said Tony, holding onto the side.
“You’d think but Steve can’t hold his breath for shit, so I think it’s even,” said Bucky with a smirk.
“Fine, but it doesn’t count if you touch my feet because I can’t feel it,” said Tony. “Steve’s it first!”
That evening at dinner they sat around the table, the boys all worn out from swimming in the heat. Tony picked tiredly at his plate. It was cooked carrots, which he hated (but Steve loved), mashed potatoes with chives and he hated chives (but Clint loved them), and salmon and Tony hated fish (but Bucky loved fish). Tony knew he could ask for something else to eat, Clint and Phil never denied them any food but he was too tired to get up the nerve to ask. Even after living with them for months Tony still had a difficult time asking for things, especially after a long day that included any sort of doctor visit.
“Not hungry, Tones?” asked Steve through a mouthful of carrots.
“Hmm,” mumbled Tony, leaning his cheek against his fist.
“Tony doesn’t like fish,” said Bucky.
“Oh, I should have remembered,” said Phil, feeling guilty. He didn’t usually make dinner, Clint did, so he didn’t even think to look at the list of no-foods for each boy that Clint had on the inside of the cupboard above the oven.
“It’s okay,” muttered Tony.
“I’ll make you a sandwich,” said Phil.
It spoke about just how tired Tony was that he didn’t even try to protest.
“Hey, Tones, you can just go to bed,” said Clint with a soft smile. “I bring you some snacks you can have if you’re hungry later but you look exhausted.”
Tony nodded and went to bed.
“So what were you working on that meant Pops had to cook?” asked Bucky.
“And royally mess it all up because Tony hates everything on his plate,” said Steve with a laugh as he inspected the plate. “Dad usually makes a separate plate without chives and he never tries to feed Tony fish.”
“Alright, alright, I’m not perfect like your father,” said Phil, throwing up his hands.
“It’s okay babe, not all of us were made to be amazing stay-at-home dads,” said Clint with a smirk. “It’s a hard job with lot’s of details. We don’t expect you to be any good at it, right boys?”
“Right!”
“But really, what were you working on?” asked Bucky.
“Just a project,” shrugged Clint. “And I didn’t want to make dinner so Phil did.”
The next morning Clint entered Tony’s room when he heard the boy moving around.
“Hey, let’s try your new braces,” said Clint.
“Okay,” said Tony with an unenthusiastic shrug.
“Okay, socks first.”
Clint helped Tony with his socks and then sliding on the new braces. Once everything was hooked into place, Clint pulled the tops of the socks down over the top of the braces and buttoned them in place.
“Where did those buttons come from?” asked Tony, looking down with real interest.
“I just glued them one to see if this would even work,” said Clint. “And I made little slits in your socks so they could button into place. If it doesn’t work we can take them off. But if they do I can secure them better and we can do that.”
“You, you made these for me?”
Clint looked up to see Tony had tears in his eyes. He smiled softly at the boy and nodded.
“Of course. I don’t ever want to see you hurt. I know there are things I can’t fix for you but I can do this.”
He couldn’t change the past, he couldn’t stop Tony from being hurt, from being shuffled around from home to home, from knowing rejection at such a young age. He couldn’t change that and he couldn’t prevent Tony from never being hurt again, not from everything, but he could fix this one thing. He could make it just a little easier for Tony to stand on his own and that’s what the kid needed at that moment.
“Thank you,” whispered Tony.
“Any time,” said Clint. “For anything.”