Work Text:
No lasting Effects
One morning, out of nowhere, a magical portal opens itself up in the kitchen while they’re having breakfast. A second later, Dr. Stephen Strange sticks his head out, which is met with curious looks from the kids and immense relief on Phil and Thor’s faces.
“Good morning, terribly sorry for the delay! What is- oh. I see. Be right back!” and with that, the man and his portal disappear as quickly as they came.
The kids stare for a second and Lucky is sniffing the floor in the area where the portal appeared. There is nothing to be seen, but the dog seems to be determined to find evidence. He only perks up when Clint holds a piece of bacon under the table - Lucky abandons his attempts to sniff out the strange man or the glowing lights in favor of collecting his snack and getting some ear scratches and butt rubs in the process.
Meanwhile, the kids have found their voices - the silence never lasts too long with them.
“....The fuck was that?”
“Uh… What was that and who was that?”
“Did he-?”
“...How?”
“Wow, that is SO COOL!”
The kids are equal parts excited and confused - the 5 seconds this entire encounter lasted, definitely left an impression. There are shouts and questions all mingled with each other while the food on the table is slowly getting cold.
Both Thor and Phil are attempting to explain it as easily as possible.
“He is an old friend. Stephen Strange - he might be able to help us reverse the spell and get you back to the ages you were originally, at this time.”
“How is he going to do that?”
“I don’t know - but this kind of thing is his expertise, so I’m positive he’ll find a way.”
To his great surprise, as happy as Phil is for the change of situation, part of him will definitely miss this. He’s been missing his friends as they were, of course, but something about those weeks and months with the kids around had been truly special. The time has definitely made him rethink some things, but when it comes down to it, this is good news, and he is definitely looking forward to it.
As he finds out pretty soon, Thor thinks something similar.
“This was a good time indeed, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy that things will go back to normal - well. As normal as it goes for us.” he elbows Phil in the side with a mischievous grin.
“Oh, please don’t tempt fate just yet.” Shaking his head, he drains the rest of his coffee and reaches up to clasp his hand on Thor’s giant upper arm.
“It happens, my friend. I am not to blame!” he replies, laughter clear in his voice.
Doctor Strange, it turns out, doesn’t need as long to return with a cure. The kids are currently making cookies and a mess in the kitchen when another portal appears out of nowhere and the man himself steps out.
After that, life changes once again.
*+~
“Man, I’m glad there are no lasting effects from this whole... thing.”
Clint wiggles one hand through the air to empathise on the “thing” and clutches the coffee pot with the other. Although he was very tempted to do so, he did not make a Gollum impersonation, hissing “my preciousss” as soon as he got his hands on it. It even contains the overcaffeinated death-mixture coffee, which Phil had to take out of the safe in his office, something that both him and Tony had a good laugh about, only to be met with a long, intense stare from Phil and
“You would not want to have two over caffeinated kids running circles around you, believe me. There was a damn good reason.”
“Eh, we were adorable.”
“Yes, when you were sleeping.”
Phil laughs at the mock-offended “what, me?!” twin looks that Clint and Tony shoot him after that. They know damn well he is right.
They are currently making breakfast, and easy banter fills the room. It is the first morning after being turned back, and the team decided to have a feast that morning - because they can.
All of them are moving around the kitchen, doing different things. Clint is on the stove, flipping pancakes, drinking pitch black coffee from a pot and keeping an eye on the eggs. Next to him, Steve is chopping some fresh fruits. He’s having a conversation with Tony, who is busy making waffles with one hand and holding a coffee mug with the other, occasionally looking back to face him and smile at him while they’re talking.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Clint snaps at him,
“Steve, be careful with the knife, you’ll hurt yourself!” after a confused beat of silence, he asks, more himself than anyone in the room,
“Wait, where the fuck did that come from?”
Steve, who is at least a head taller than Clint, drops said knife onto the counter out of pure instinct, blinks, and then starts laughing - hard. He has to lean onto the smaller man in support, resting his elbow on his shoulder in this particular tall-person-dickmove-fashion and proceeds to laugh his ass off.
“That was - I’m sorry but that was really sweet of you.” he laughs some more, and so does the rest of the room.
“No lasting effects my ass.” Tony quips up, shaking his head and elbows Natasha in the ribs while he almost lets a waffle burn because he laughs too much.
“Well, to be fair, you carried around burning objects just to see what would happen up until a few days ago” Nat tells Steve, shaking her head and laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.
“I am so glad this didn’t happen to me yet.” Thor tells Phil, who just looks at him blankly.
“You’re telling me. I have to fight the constant urge to put them into bubble wrap before I remember they’re back to normal…”
“To be fair, ‘normal’ does not mean a lot with us.”
Phil just sighs, shaking his head. Although he is smiling in amusement, he absolutely understands Clint. As the oldest of the kids, he took over a protective big brother role, and it seems like there definitely are at least some lasting effects.
*+~
Maybe it is the fact that it’s been months since he planned on actually doing something about the feelings in between Clint and himself, or maybe that the situation from the other morning wasn’t an isolated incident - there sure are some aftermath effects from the previous months. But Phil is looking for Clint that night, finding him on the rooftop.
Lucky is dozing with his head on his lap while Clint is watching over the city, drinking from a thermos. Phil takes care not to sneak up on him, which is always a bad idea, but especially now. Phil would hate to destroy this peaceful moment. Deliberately making noise while he walks, he steps closer. Clint looks up at the vibrations on the floor and smiles up at Phil.
“Hey there.”
“Hi. Mind if I join you?”
Clint taps the floor next to him and Phil settles down there. It’s not a cold night, but it sure is getting a little chilly, especially at night. The two of them lean into each other, just a bit to casually share body heat.
“Coffee?” Clint asks, holding out the flask in his hand.
“Yes please. It’s cold up here.”
“In a suit, sure.” he shrugs and hands over his drink.
“You’ve got coffee and Lucky” Phil points out, thankful for the warm drink and takes a few sips before handing back the thermos.
“Well, so do you. And you’ve got me, too.”
“That’s true. And for the record, I’m glad you’re here.”
“Aw, Phil.” Clint feels warm when he leans more heavily into him - it’s a feeling he’s missed in the last few months. The warmth, the comfort, the familiar strength. Most of all, the complete package that is his favourite person. Phil wraps an arm around his shoulder and leans close in return, but he doesn’t say anything.
“It’s kind of weird.” Clint says after a while, and he doesn’t have to specify what he means.
“I remember bits and pieces of what happened, some things more clearly than others. Like I was living another life, which I guess is kinda true.” he chuckles. “I still feel like any of the others is a kid that needs protection when I turn around.”
“If it makes you feel any better, so do I.”
“Do you have the urge to snap at grown ass adults for using kitchen utensils that are hot or sharp?”
“Weirdly enough, yes. It is truly concerning.”
The bark of laughter from Clint tickles near his neck, but it is warm and familiar as well.
“You’re okay though? It’s alright if you don’t want to talk about it, but. Just checking in.”
“I’m good. It’s… I know there were situations. Don’t wanna get into it to be honest. But, uhm. That was mostly my brain at that age - that shit was bound to happen either way I guess. Right now? I’m okay. No crisis or anything.” He pauses for a moment and lightly squeezes Phils arm in acknowledgement.
“Thanks for checking in, though. I appreciate it. The rest, too.”
“Of Course.” The answer comes without hesitation.
The wind is picking up now, but the two men are close enough to share heat and Lucky is shuffling closer as well. Besides, it is nice out here. New York is stretched out beneath them, and especially from up here, it is beautiful.
“What about you Phil? You okay?”
“Me? Yes, of course.”
“I know you’re a worrier. And I know that you have your own days, too. ‘s why I’m asking.”
This right here - the caring nature under the layers of snark and bad jokes is why Phil is, even after years of nursing a crush, still deeply in love. Maybe tonight, he can finally say that.
“Thank you, Clint. I really am okay.” he pauses for a moment, takes a breath to keep talking, but stops himself.
Clint remains silent, waiting for Phil to keep talking while running one hand through Lucky’s thick fur. It’s getting cold out here, but the moment is too nice. He doesn’t want it to be over yet - it’s been too long since he had some one-on-one time with Phil and the last few weeks certainly don’t count.
“This de-aging thing. The timing was absolute shit.”
Clint laughs. “It sure was. I wanted to talk to you after that mission, but, well. Guess I was stuck in my teen-self for a while.”
Could it be?
Phil pulls away a little bit. They’re still touching, but he wants to look Clint in the eyes when they have this conversation.
“I have been thinking about this for a long time - years, to be honest. I wasn’t sure if I should say something in the first place, and then the timing was never right…”
Phil reaches out for Clint’s hand and he happily takes it, squeezing just enough to be reassuring. His hand is warm, slightly rough with callouses and most of all familiar. Touching him feels like home. He tells him just that.
“You have been home to me for even longer - I hope you know that… What I’m trying to say here is, I love you. I love you a lot.”
The smile he gets in response is the most beautiful thing Phil has ever seen, and when Clint replies, it makes him even happier.
“I love you, too. Wanted to tell you for ages… Is it okay when I kiss you?”
“Of course.”
Nothing is easier to answer than this. It’s been too long since they’ve been waiting for this, and so they close the last bit of distance between them and finally, their lips meet.
The kiss is gentle but intense, warm and it spreads a comfortable warmth through both of them. There wasn’t a lot of space left between their bodies in the first place, but now they are pressed as closely to each other as humanly possible, embracing one another. Phil has one arm tightly wrapped around him and lets his fingers of the other hand run through Clint’s thick blond hair. Under different circumstances, it certainly would be fun to tug and pull a little, but that is for another time.
Clint holds him close as well while his left hand keeps brushing over the 5 o'clock shadow on Phil’s face. Both of them are happier than they have been in a long, long time. The chill of the wind is picking up now, blowing around them and it really is too cold to stay out for much longer. Neither Clint nor Phil wants to let go of the other just now, so they hold on for just as long as they possibly can. After a while though, both of them are shivering and reluctantly, they make their way inside, Lucky on their heels and the empty thermos almost forgotten as they make their way to Clint’s apartment.
It’s late at night or early in the morning - depending how you look at it - by the time they are wrapped up around each other in bed, exhaustion tugging at them. The feeling of skin on skin, fingers running over scars and the contours of muscles, lips on lips and beard stubble rubbing over bare skin is absolutely perfect, and so they drift off to sleep. They have each other and Lucky is curled up by their feet, breathing deep and even, long oblivious to what is going on around him.
There really is no other word to describe this than “perfect”.
It seems like love is in the air.
Maybe it is the changing weather, what with it getting colder and colder outside so that none of them wants to sleep alone at night. Maybe this is why they would rather have someone to be close with. Or, more likely, finally being back to themselves and having time to reevaluate things is the reason for this. The tower was nearly bursting with the leaking pining from all sides - it’s about time for this to change.
Be it what it is, but they’re certainly happier now.
The morning after their love confessions, Clint and Phil enter the kitchen late, sleepy and with dopey smiles on their faces. If it isn’t this, then certainly the fact that Phil has borrowed clothes from Clint or that the two of them are holding hands tips the others off that something has changed.
No one says anything, but to be fair, it’s still early. Throughout the day, the others shoot them knowing smiles. Absolutely no one is surprised - this has been a long time coming.
About a week later, Phil walks into the main lab, intending to talk to Tony and finding not only him but also Steve in the room, who is folded up on the couch and sketching on something while Tony is rambling on and on about - he doesn’t even want to ask. But before Phil can even start talking, Tony ushers him over to the couch - “Safety distance” he says, and returns to his project. Amused, Phil turns to Steve.
“Do I even want to know?”
“Honestly? No, I don't think you do. What did you need?” he asks, putting down his pencil for a bit. For a split second, Phil catches what he is working on. He tries not to peek, knowing how many artists don’t like sharing their work until it’s done, but he can still easily make out the shadows of a portrait and the start of a very familiar goatee. If it wasn’t for that, the happy shine in Steve’s eyes would probably give him away. He rarely looks this carefree, but being freshly in love suits him well.
“An opinion on some blueprints for SHIELD R&D. Nick called… I’m not in a hurry though.” Phil adds with a small smile. It’s true, he doesn’t mind the small break. Besides, hanging out here is always bound to be interesting. Like now, when Tony thrusts a pair of protection goggles at each of them.
“Put them on and keep your head down.” is all the information they get before he orders, “JARVIS, shields up!” and the AI does just that. It looks like holograms hovering in the air, cutting the room in half. This leaves the work space in one, the lounge area in yet another corner - only a fool would think they’d be inefficient.
The two men on the couch share a look, shrug and do as was asked of them. Seconds later, a bright light fills the room.
“Aha!” They can hear Tony excalim from the middle of it, and when the light has disappeared, something must have changed to his satisfaction because he breaks out into a little victory dance. It doesn’t escape Phil’s notice that Steve watches him with a loopy smile on his face, and so he tells him,
“It’s good to see you happy like that.”
“Huh?” Steve blinks a few times. Obviously, he was distracted.
“The two of you. It’s good to see you happy.” Phil clarifies and in the meantime, Tony makes his way over to them, still dancing, and then he simply throws himself onto the couch, sitting half on the cushion and half on Steve.
“Phil, please tell me you’re here to chat instead of just getting rid of your paperwork” he greets him and he, too, looks much lighter and happier than he did in a long time.
“With courtesy of Nick Fury.” Phil tells him and drops a stack of folders in his lap, which is met with a flat look.
Later that day, on his way to the kitchen, Phil comes across Bruce and Thor napping together on the couch. The two of them are clearly happy and relaxed, curled around each other in a way that they haven’t before as far as anyone else could tell. They look happy and content even in their sleep, and it makes Phil happy to see that these two finally seem to have talked about their mutual feelings as well.
On the armchair near them, Natasha is curled up with a book, steaming mug on the table next to her and with Lucky sprawled in her lap. She looks up from her novel when she hears Phil enter and smiles. She, too, looks incredibly happy and content, just being home, having time to spend with her novel and a hot drink. Especially with loved ones around her. When Phil comes closer, she reaches out for a one armed hug, which he happily steps into and returns. The two of them never needed a lot of words, and especially not now, after so many years.
They’re all doing okay, and that is more than anyone could have wished for.
In the kitchen, Clint is kneading dough, humming silently to a tune that is definitely familiar, but Phil can’t put his finger on it. His best guesses would be either cheesy country or classic rock - as Phil knows, there is very little in between on his playlists. It makes him smile though, because a humming or singing Clint is always a happy Clint. He looks up when he notices movement in the corner of his eye, and his entire face lights up when he spots Phil.
Clint happily accepts the kiss he gets as a greeting, and then his flour covered hands sign “I love you” to Phil before he puts the dough away to rest and pulls over another bowl.
*+~
There is a pin board on the wall in the common room kitchen. Originally, it was a pretty typical-household-size, to hold shopping lists, reminders and team event dates - things like that. After the one year anniversary, they pinned a team photo onto it.
The photo shows all of them in their shiny new uniforms, arranged in front of a neutral wall to make it look all professional for the press. Everyone looks either serious or smiles a slight, friendly looking smile but they all agree, it’s not very authentic. This is why they took another photo that day, after everything was done.
They are still wearing their uniforms in this one, but they are in the living room and have their arms slung around each other, elbowing one another in the sides with laughter and Natasha makes bunny ears behind Steve’s head. Lucky is with them, of course, front center and being his goofy, adorable self. An almost similar photo is next to it, only that Lucky has decided he’s over sitting still and tackles Clint to the floor. All that is visible of him are his booted feet and a blur of movement, and Lucky standing on him while he licks his face.
Another few photos were added soon after, showing the team on a day off in an amusement park. Eating ice cream and cotton candy, smiling and laughing like they are careless young kids instead of hardened agents and superheros.
Thor and Steve are crammed into a tiny wagon in one photo, knees stuck on their ears and they’re having a blast.
On another one, Bruce is clinging to Tony for dear life in one of the roller coasters. He hasn’t been on a ride in many years, and to say he remembers it a little bit differently would be putting it kindly.
Natasha and Clint are on the same roller coaster, but instead of screaming or laughing, they pull out a Monopoly board and look at it in intense concentration, just in time for the photo to be taken. It looks so casual, like they do it all the time, but as they later confess, they are ridiculously proud to have managed this shot.
When Tony goes to collect the photos, both his and Bruce’s and the one from Nat and Clint, he laughs for several minutes as he compares the two next to each other. After recovering just enough to ask where the hell they even got the board, Natasha pulls it out of the lining of her jacket, keeping a completely straight face while she does so. It sends Tony into hysterics once more and they leave him cackling in the corner, leaning against a wall, wiping away amused tears and laughing way too much to even try to speak.
After that, it turns into a tradition - there are more staged photos like this from later amusement park visits.
All six of them are in one single wagon - in one photo, they are brushing their teeth, doing their makeup or braiding hair, in yet another one they pulled out newspapers that they pretend to read.
In one shot, only Tony, Natasha, Clint and Steve are present and their arms are in a YMCA position. Yet another one is of Nat, Bruce and Thor wearing cheap halloween masks of each other’s faces(or, instead of Bruce's face, the Hulk) .
These photos are all next to each other, with space left specifically for later additions to the series.
After they found out that Phil is in fact alive, he moved in as soon as medical would let him and he brought his own photos for the pin board. The first one is older than the other shots - at least 8 years at this point. Technically, it’s four photos, and they are from one of those old photo booths you hardly find anymore.
The first of those photos shows him with Nat and Clint, all three of them in civilian clothes and barely managing to fit into the cramped cabin together. All three of them are smiling and leaning into each other, and it is one of his absolute favourite photos of them, to this day.
The second photo is half blurry, because Clint “I can perch on a fence post for hours if I have to but I’ll fall off of my own kitchen counter for no reason”-Barton loses his footing.
The third photo is Nat and Phil looking to the floor in confusion and the fourth shows them laughing their asses off while Clint holds his arm up to the camera to flip it the bird.
Phil remembers this day fondly, and so do both of his friends. When he hung it up, Clint had seen it from across the room, smiled and said, “Hey, I have a copy of that in my apartment! Good days.”
“Me, too. I like the last one.” Nat had said with a hint of mischief in her voice, but no less fondly.
The other photo that Phil brought wasn’t shot that long before everything went to hell.
It shows him with Nat and Clint in their SHIELD quarters, Phil in his suit and the other two in their casual black uniforms. They are off the clock and share a big pizza that is placed on the coffee table in front of them and there are dark circles under their eyes, from short nights and long work days, but here they are smiling, happy to have an evening off together. Those had been rare at the time, and the three of them have always cherished their time together.
As with all of their photos together, Clint and Natasha have the same shots as well, either tucked away in scrapbooks or wallets, some proudly framed and displayed in their homes. After the battle against Loki and the Chitauri, when they were made to believe that Phil died, it was hard to look at those. It was painful every time.
But now that things are better and their favourite person in the world well and alive, they’re fond memories of old days.
After a while, the pin board had simply gotten too small, no matter how they rearranged photos and scraps of paper. One morning, another, bigger board appears next to the well loved one, and the photo collection grows over time. There are more team shots of course, but there are also some selfies of just two or three of them, sneaky shots made on a plane to capture various of them drooling onto each other's shoulder in their sleep.
Some of the photos show them pulling silly faces or playing video games, cooking, baking. One photo shows Thor, Steve, Clint and Nat building a human pyramid in the gym, others show Tony and Bruce in the lab, casually working or playing fetch with DUM-E and U.
Another series is of Phil being squished in between Lucky and the bernese mountain dog that his sister brought over for a visit - Phil is covered in fluffy dogs ranging from big to giant that love him fiercely and want to show just that - the paperwork is abandoned and visible on the coffee table. In the second Photo, Phil is barely to be seen, but he is joined by Clint and Tony who decided that now would be the perfect time for video games, sitting on the sides of the couch, petting the dogs on occasion. On the third one, Lucky sits on Clint’s lap, blocking his line of sight and looking satisfied with himself. The next Photo shows Phil, this time much more comfortable, even though that means that Helga - his sister's dog - is now sprawled all over his legs and cutting off his blood circulation. Phil looks happy and content nonetheless - he’s always had a heart for animals.
There is a collage of Clint sleeping in funny places, almost always with Lucky sprawled across him and occasionally kicking him in the face. Natasha and Steve playing on old video game consoles, looking happy and childlike. Bruce and Thor leaning against each other in their seats after a mission, and a million other domestic shots.
Another great collage is of Lucky, photographed and edited like one of those cheesy 80s/90s family photo collages where one sideways profile is blended into the background. This was supposed to be a joke gift for Clint, shot in his absence while he was out on a SHIELD mission. Truth be told, he loves the silly thing more than anything else he’d gotten that Christmas - or maybe ever. Naturally, he’d put the original in his apartment and made a blown up copy for the pin board in the kitchen.
Recently, a few other photos have made their way on the board. There aren’t a lot of Photos from the Avengers as kids in general, and there are not a lot from the time they were de-aged. But they took some.
There is a group shot, of the kids piled up on the couch like a bunch of puppies. Pillowed on each other and with Lucky on his back in the middle of it, belly up in the air and his head twisted in a way that looks odd but must be very comfortable according to the dog.
Another photo shows them in the kitchen, making a huge mess and baking cookies with Thor. Phil is not visible in this shot, because he took it on his phone. He printed it out, labeling it with “ Just another day at home ” in his neat and even handwriting, joined by a slightly crooked smiley face.
The last photo of this time shows all of them - five Kiddie-Avengers, Thor and Phil on either side of the group and with Pepper joining them on the couch. It’s a nice photo, and JARVIS took it via request after everyone arranged in the living room. That very same morning, Doctor Strange had popped in in the kitchen, and they took the opportunity to take one last photo together while in this state.
Everyone is smiling and laughing, once again, with their arms thrown around each other.
No matter where you look though - they are a family on every single one of those photos.
*+~
“...Did you seriously just feed Cleopatra?”
“Uh, yes? It’s our fault that the poor thing even got to this point… I felt bad, and the meatballs went kinda off anyway, so.” Bruce shrugs, and Tony just stares at him, partially impressed and partially horrified. Of the many stories and memories of the time they spent as kids recently, Cleopatra is probably the liveliest one.
“Bruce?”
“Yes?”
“How is this even our life?”
“Honestly? At this point, I don’t even question it anymore.”
“Fair enough”
+*~
25 - Puppy Pile