Chapter Text
Natasha came into the communal living room in her running clothes. She was afraid to ask why Tony was looking past her shoulder.
"Where's your other half?" Tony asked.
"It took her a minute to figure out who he was talking about. "He didn't go running with me," Natasha said. "I left late and Pippa was already down for a nap."
"I would have watched her," Tony said. "Bruce is doing science things."
Natasha laughed. "I thought that was how you and Bruce entertained yourselves. I rarely see either of you not with your heads together."
"Whatever Bruce was doing," Tony said, "was not in my wheel house."
"Where's Clint?" Steve asked, joining Tony and Natasha."
"We are not joined at the hip," Natasha said.
"I'm aware," Steve said. "I just wondered. "He said something to me yesterday that I did't get."
'What?" Natasha asked.
"That he was going to watch Bob Ross re-runs when Pippa was down for a nap," Steve said. "And I was welcome to join,"
"Why wasn't I invited?" Tony asked.
"What is a Bob Ross?" Steve asked.
"He's awesome," Tony said. "I grew-up watching him teach painting on PBS."
"He's a painting teacher?" Steve asked.
"We have to go see Clint," Tony said, "before Pippa wakes-up."
"This should be interesting," Natasha said, leading Tony and Steve into the elevator, up to the Avengers' apartment flloor and down to Clint's and Pippa's apartment. Letting herself in, she led Tony and Steve into Pippa's play room.
Tony grinned when he saw Clint paining along with an old video of Bob Ross. The painting Clint was learning to paint was of a snowy mountain with a lake at the base and trees along it. Tony vaguely remembered seeing that episode. "How did I not know this about you, Legolis?" Tony asked
"I'm allowed to have secrets," Clint said.
"If you wanted to learn to paint," Steve said, "I could have taught you. You know that's not the real way to paint a tree."
"Bite your tongue, Cap," Tony said. "We do not ridicule Bob Ross. The man is a legend."
"Say you're sorry, Uncle Steeb," Pippa said, coming into her play room. "Mr. Ross makes pretty pictures."
Steve wondered what he was missing, so he mumbled, "Sorry," to Pippa and took his notebook out of his pocket and added Bob Ross to his always growing list.