Chapter Text
"Da! Da!" James gurgles happily as Phil re-enters the apartment carrying bags of takeout. Clint grins and places the baby on the floor, making sure he's stable on his feet before letting him toddle towards Phil. Phil smiles widely, hurriedly placing the bags on the counter, and squatting so that he can encourage James into his arms.
"Come on kiddo. Just a little further..."
"Da! Da!"
Phil reaches out to catch James before he can lose his balance and sweeps him up into the air with an exaggerated swoop that makes them both laugh. "Gotcha!"
Phil perches James on his hip while he starts to unpack the food, nodding encouragingly as James babbles nonsensically. Clint watches them for another moment before turning back to his game of checkers with Ellie. She's looking at Phil and James thoughtfully, a small frown on her face. Clint braces himself. Ellie has never shown any signs of jealousy toward James since Clint and Phil started seeing each other, but that doesn't mean today's not that day.
"Everything okay sweetheart?" Clint prods.
Ellie nods, bites her lip, and then gets up to walk around the coffee table to climb into Clint's lap. Clint hugs her close, amazed and utterly grateful at how comfortable Ellie has always been with him since that first night when Phil had come to check on him with a sleeping Ellie in tow.
"You're sure everything is okay?"
Ellie nods again and then pulls back to look at Clint very seriously. "Why does James call Daddy, Da Da?"
"Well... Da is pretty much all James can say right now and probably because he hears you call him Daddy. You know how James is always watching you."
"Yeah," Ellie says with a grin and Clint relaxes, telling himself that he shouldn't have doubted how much Ellie clearly loves James. Ellie's face goes serious again and Clint waits for her to verbalize what's going through her head.
"I call you Clint, like Daddy does."
"You do."
"Will James call you Clint too?"
"I... I don't know sweetie." Clint runs a hand over Ellie's hair as he fights a smile at her disapproving frown. Her concern is a valid one, but he can't help wanting to melt at how adorable she is being.
"James should call you Daddy, but he already calls my Daddy, Da Da."
"That's true..."
"That's not fair," Ellie argues, her frown deepening. Before Clint can try and alleviate her fears, her eyes widen and she smiles brightly. "Maybe we can both call you something else!"
"O-okay. What do you—"
Ellie cuts him off, nearly bubbling over in excitement. "Zoya at school calls her Daddy, Papa, cuz he's Rushing. You said Auntie Nat is Rushing too."
Natasha had come for a short visit a few weeks ago and Ellie must have overheard them talking about how Nat had once been Clint's foster sister. Clint starts to formulate a simple explanation of why Nat being Russian didn't make him Russian, but Ellie rushes on unhindered.
"I could call you Papa too so that everyone knows you're my other Dad. Like Mommy and Māmā."
All further thought rushes out of Clint's head and his heart suddenly feels much too big for his chest. He struggles for air, barely able to breathe past the rush of love he feels for the little girl in his arms.
"I think that's a wonderful idea," Phil says approvingly before Clint can recover enough to respond.
Clint's eyes fly up to meet Phil's and he sees the same wealth of emotion he feels reflected in Phil's gaze. Ellie beams at Phil and then turns back to look at Clint expectantly. He forces the words past the lump in his throat.
"I would love it if you called me Papa."
"Yay!" Ellie's grin goes impossibly wide and Clint pulls her into a hug, burying his nose in her hair as Ellie hugs back.
"Dinner's on the table and James is already in his chair. Ellie, why don't you wash up?" Phil suggests sagely.
"Kay! Love you Papa."
Clint gives Ellie one more squeeze before letting her go. "I love you too, Ellie-girl."
"Love you too Daddy," Ellie adds as she pauses to give Phil a quick kiss before zooming off to the bathroom. Phil smiles serenely and sits next to Clint, allowing Clint to collapse against him, still overwhelmed by what just happened. Phil wraps his arm around Clint's shoulders supportively and gives him the time he needs to catch his breath.
"Kids have an amazing way of stealing your heart, don't they?"
"Ellie's had that since the first night you let me hold her... but Jesus, Phil. Your little girl wants to call me Papa. She wants me to be her other Dad."
"Sounds about right to me," Phil responds lightly, but giving Clint's shoulders a squeeze to show he understands how monumental this is to Clint. "Now you know how I felt the first time James called me 'Da' with intent."
"Ellie's only known me six months."
"Kids aren't hampered by rules. What they feel is what they know." Phil brushes a kiss against Clint's temple. "Ellie and I both know true love when we see it."
Clint sits up, wrapping his arms around Phil and giving him a proper kiss. "You are such a sap."
"And you love me for it."
"I do."
"Papa! Daddy forgot my milk."
Clint and Phil grin at each other as they stand from the couch. "I'll get it for you while Daddy apologizes."
Phil bends to give Ellie a kiss on the cheek as Clint walks toward the refrigerator. His back is to them, so he doesn't bother trying to suppress his grin when Ellie scolds, "You actually have to say sorry, Daddy."
"My deepest apologies for forgetting your milk, Ellie."
"That's okay. You can do better next time."
Clint purses his lips to hold back a laugh while Phil's eyes dance with amusement, placing Ellie's cup in front of her before they each take their seats at the table. He turns to ask Phil to pass the snap peas when movement catches the corner of his vision.
"Ellie, please don't give your brother any rice. You know he hates how it sticks to his hands and we don't want rice all over the floor."
Ellie quickly puts her spoon down and slides her plate away from James' reaching hands. It's not until Clint looks back at Phil that his choice of words registers. Phil is smiling like he's won the best lottery imaginable and as Clint looks around the table at their family, he can't help but agree.