Cuddly As A Bear
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of its characters :(
Authors Note: You can all thank my totally awesome beta for this one. It was all Devin's idea! Hehe
Nick Fury goes to build a bear for Clint's birthday present :) need I say more...
Enjoy!
Molly stared down at the mission report before her with bleary eyes. She couldn't remember ever reading something so boring, it certainly didn't help that she'd been working for fourteen hours straight. The amount of spelling mistakes she'd circled for the agent to correct was worse than a six year old's, and she would know, since she'd taught that age group. There were times when the agent wondered what had made her give up her once true calling as a teacher and decide to deal with cheeky, ungrateful and sometimes obnoxious agents who were no better than the children she'd given support and advice to. Then she remembered how rewarding the past few years had been, seeing those young men and women become fully fledged agents, using their skills and knowledge to help protect those who had no idea that they were even in danger. It was a nice and much desired change from the classroom and who knew those set of skills were transferable in such an obvious way.
After a further ten minutes she gave up and tossed the file on top of her mountain of paperwork. Her sharp gaze didn't fail to notice the figure who seemed to be stalking her; they'd already passed her office a total of five times in the space of three minutes. The agent might have been slightly wary if she didn't already know who it was. There wasn't a person on base who walked like that man, or had his presence. She gripped the test paper Clint had completed today and started marking it, waiting for the shadow in the corridor to make his move.
It didn't take long.
Molly Barlow kept her face carefully blank as the older man knocked on her door before entering. Her eyebrow raised at the slightly nervous expression on the Director's face.
"What can I do for you Director?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
Nick made it to the leather chair opposite Molly in three strides, lifting his long leather coat as he sat down. He glared at the young woman before him, hands clasped tightly in his lap. His entire posture looked painfully rigid, a sense of urgency encompassing him. The staring contest lasted mere seconds as Fury huffed a sigh and slumped back in the chair.
"I need your help." The tone of Nick's voice had its usual deadly edge, though there was an unexpected hint of pleading mixed in. The Director kept his gaze locked firmly on the woman opposite.
Molly leaned back in her chair, surprise colouring her features. That wasn't what she expected to hear at all. "What's wrong Nick?" she asked, trying to hide the concern creeping into her voice. If Nick Fury needed help with something then it had to be big.
"It's about Clint's birthday."
The younger agent released the breath she didn't realise she was holding. A wave of exasperation washing over her; trust Nick to make her worry for nothing. Placing the test paper on the top of her seemingly never-ending pile of paperwork, Molly folded her hands in front of her and scowled at the man opposite. It didn't matter to her that he was the Director and most of the people who worked within SHIELD both respected and feared him. Agent Barlow had known Nick long before he became Director and had told him back then that she wasn't afraid to bump heads with him. Fury had given her his trademark smirk and told her he expected nothing less.
Folding her arms over her chest Molly gave him a pointed look. "What about his birthday?" The tutor didn't have to worry about what to get Clint as he'd been giving her hints for over a month now. She had to laugh at the teen's last clue, he'd left his magazine accidently on her desk with the game he wanted circled twice in bright red pen. Not at all subtle; she would have to make sure he worked on that before he began his agent training. She was just happy the young archer was comfortable enough with them now that he felt he could ask for things.
"I know what I'm getting him, it's just proving a bit difficult to get it," Nick replied cryptically.
Molly wondered what had the older man so nervous. "What are you getting him?"
Nick shuffled uncomfortably in the leather chair, unwilling to meet the younger agent's inquisitive stare. He was certain she'd laugh at him once she found out what it was, he'd never hear the end of it. Of that he was certain. If he said it quick, like ripping off a band aid maybe he could keep his dignity intact.
"Buildabearworkshop," he muttered quickly, noticing the amusement practically radiating from the younger woman.
The corners of Molly's mouth quirked upwards, trying desperately to hide her smirk but failing miserably. "One more time, I didn't catch that."
"Buildabearworkshop," Nick tried again.
"Build a what?" prompted Molly, delighting in the Director's discomfort. She'd heard it clearly the first time.
"Build. A. Bear. Workshop." Fury spit out each word forcefully.
"You're going to make him a bear?" she asked with a snort.
Fury glared back in annoyance, aware that Molly was having too much fun with this. He released a calming breath before turning to the younger agent with a pleading look she rarely witnessed from her boss. "No, you are."
The tutor felt a tickle rise from the back of her throat and before she knew it she was laughing. She couldn't contain herself, it was just too funny. The man before her had taken on assassins, had hundreds of agents under his command, dealt with the World Security Council on numerous occasions and had even lost his eye while on a mission to take out a group of terrorists but the thought of going into a kid's toy store was making him seem rather perplexed. It was just too good.
"No."
Nick recoiled in the chair as if he'd just been slapped. "What?"
"I said no, Nick." Molly smiled cheekily, enjoying the flash of fear in the other man's eye. "This is your gift to Clint, so you're just going to have to suck it up and build his bear. It's making a toy not disarming a nuclear warhead."
The Director pushed the chair back with more force than necessary, looking slightly pleased with himself when it smacked against the large book case behind him. The expression on Molly's face never wavered except the slight pursing of her lips.
Nick stalked from the office, grumbling under his breath.
Once she was sure the Director was out of ear shot, the younger woman found herself chuckling at the image in her head of Nick going to Build a Bear Workshop to make a replica of himself. Not wanting to ruin the surprise for Clint, or Phil for that matter, she would keep this to herself. Later she'd get Coulson to work his magic with the techs and get video feed from the store. It would be so much better than television, that was for sure.
Nick couldn't believe Molly denied his request, and he'd asked so nicely too. The director had even thought about asking Phil but found he couldn't do that. The younger man had enough on his plate at the moment with Clint's sixteenth coming up and didn't need to be running errands for his boss too.
He could do this. He was a god father now. There was nothing scary about a kid's toy shop.
Pushing down his growing sense of apprehension, the one eyed man entered the large store and froze. Inside was bustling with activity. Nick had never seen so many kids all in one place; screaming and laughing as they put together their very own bear. He remembered Molly's words of wisdom, suck it up. With that in mind he pushed his way inside.
Gritting his teeth Nick resisted the urge to pull his gun on the group of children swarming around him. It was probably just as well he'd left the weapon in the car. Then again the director didn't need a weapon to get his thoughts across. He'd only been in the store for five minutes and already he'd had his toes stepped on six times, been bumped into at least thirty and had two of the young sales assistants eyeing him up with wary glances.
Something poked his thigh and the tall man spun around, looking down at the culprit. A young boy roughly five years old was staring up at him with wide green eyes and messy brown hair. "I like your costume mister."
Fury let his usually unreadable expression melt away and smiled down at the boy. "Thanks kid. I'm looking for something similar for a bear. Got any ideas?" Nick replied in his gruff voice.
The boy nodded enthusiastically, glad to be able to help the older man. He grabbed Nick's hand without a word and dragged him towards the shelves filled with clothing.
Giving the youngster a look filled with gratitude, Nick turned to the stacks of different costumes and clothes for different styles of bear.
"You should really pick which bear you want to use first, then pick what you want it to wear," The brown haired boy explained.
The older man nodded, glad to have someone here to advise him; even if it was a little kid. He glanced around the shop for something before turning back to the boy. "Is your mom here with you?"
"Yeah, silly. She's over there with my little sister. They're making her a ballerina." He said it like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"Ah, that's good." Nick started walking towards the bears on the opposite side, carefully avoiding the masses of boys and girls darting in front of him. He noticed his little shadow following closely behind him. "Did you get one?"
"Yeah, it's a Spider-man bear wearing a Spider-man costume. It's awesome!" The kid was bouncing about now, unable to stand still for more than a few seconds.
Nick thought the youngster might be on a sugar rush. Turning back to the different types of bear on display, the director pondered over which one Clint would like best. His eye kept drifting back to a bear called Champ. The plush bear was a beige colour with patches of browns and blacks. Feeling overly proud of himself for completing the first step, he turned to show his little helper to find the boy had disappeared. With a resigned sigh, he headed back to the clothes. Guess that means I'm on my own, the director thought to himself.
"Do you need any help, sir?"
Nick turned to the young sales assistant, recognising her as one of the ones that had been eyeing him warily. Her name was Stacey, he noticed from the badge on her chest. He tried to appear confidant even though he knew he was so far out of his comfort zone, it wasn't even funny. The director flashed back to a time when he'd sent Phil to buy clothes for a broken, distrusting eleven year old. He was positive this was the other agent's way of getting back at him. It didn't matter that Phil didn't even know he was here doing this for Clint, Nick was going to blame the younger agent anyway.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to answer another familiar voice chimed in. "I found you an eye patch." His little shadow was back, and damn if Nick didn't feel himself relax, ever so slightly. Usually he hated being around kids, especially this young. Obviously his time spent with his god son had changed him. He wasn't sure yet if that was a good thing.
Stacey smiled at the little boy, her gaze flicking over to Nick then back to the boy. "Does your mom know where you are?" she asked.
The brown haired boy nodded. "Yeah I told her I'm helping my new friend…." His pale green eyes stared at Fury in question.
"Nick." The director supplied helpfully.
"Nick….." the kid grinned as he repeated the name. "We're making a bear, one that looks like him."
The sales assistant chuckled, nodding over to the next stage. "Do you want to add a voice? If not then you need to go over there." She pointed at the large queue forming to her left. "That's where you put the hearts in, but you need to make a wish." Her grin broadened in delight as Nick's face paled drastically. He turned to the young girl at the front of the line and watched in tense fascination as the little girl with blonde hair tied up in pigtails, held the hearts in both hands and turned three times while making a wish. Then the young clerk placed them inside the bear before directing the girl to the fluffing machine where she was able to fill her own bear by using a pedal. Her squeals of delight rang in Fury's ears as her bear filled with stuffing and was then sewn up.
What the hell had he signed himself up for?
Nick started shaking his head, glancing between the smiling assistant and the little boy who'd started frowning as his new friend backed away from him.
"Nick, where are you going?" his little helper asked.
Fury struggled to pull himself together; he was an important man, and most people both feared and respected him. There was no way he was going to humiliate himself by standing in that queue with a bunch of kids and make a wish. That was just stupid. Why couldn't he just fill the bear and be done with it?
"Who's the bear for?" interrupted Stacey, who was staring at him with a mixture of sympathy and amusement.
"My god son."
The brunette nodded in understanding and Fury found himself wondering if there were more adults who put themselves through this for a loved one. Because that was why he was doing this, showing his softer side for the teenager who had wormed his way into the stoic man's heart and damn if he wouldn't do anything to be the reason for that kid to smile.
"You don't have make a wish. The kids do it because they want their bear to be filled with positive energy and wishes. It makes them feel safe at night, comforted by a friend that they helped make." Stacey motioned Nick toward the filling station but the taller man stayed firmly rooted to the spot he was in.
Sharing a look with the small boy beside him, Nick found himself comforted by the encouragement practically oozing from the kid. Clint deserved everything good in this world after all he'd been through, the older man couldn't deny him that. With a small nod the director made his way to the end of the queue. He could do this. There was no shame in making a fool of yourself for someone you love. Sliding his hand into his pocket, he pressed the small device he brought along for this very occasion and let out a relieved sigh. Now he could do this.
The line moved pretty fast and within five minutes Nick found himself at the front of the queue. The dark haired clerk motioned him forward, desperately trying to keep her lips from quirking upward. She didn't want to embarrass the man.
"Hold out your hands." She instructed politely.
Nick did as he was asked, holding out his hands and waited for the woman to place the three hearts into his palm. Once there, she instructed him to close his eyes and turn three times while making a wish. He was to think positive thoughts as he made his wishes and was told that then they would come true.
Fighting as hard as he could not to raise his eyebrow in disbelief, the director pushed down the scattered thoughts racing through his head and repeated a mantra, he was doing this for Clint.
It was over quicker than he imagined; a round of applause from the staff and children as he opened his eye and placed the hearts inside the bear. The young clerk looked torn between laughing and crying. Nick wasn't sure which would have been more awkward or humiliating.
He decided to let his little shadow fill the bear, the boy's green eyes shining with gratitude as he pressed down on the pedal, watching in fascination as the beige teddy bear expanded. Its arms, legs, head and belly filled to the brim with fur. Champ was then sewn together, making him whole for the first time.
"You get to wash him now, so he's nice and clean and ready to give to your god son." Nick followed the kid to the washing station, taking in the fake bath bottles and the blow dryer which another kid was using to clean away the last of the white fluff from their new friend.
"Do you want the honours kid?"
The boy jumped up and down excitedly, his skinny arms reaching out for the bear in Nick's hand. Fury smothered a chuckle as his little helper pretended to use the fake bottles and hummed a tune while washing the bear. Once he'd determined that the bear was well and truly clean he put him under the blow dryer as the other kid had done.
"Here you go, all clean," Announced the small brunette, handing the bear back to Nick.
"Thanks kid." They headed over to the clothing section again, the taller man taking in the various styles and colours. Spotting a black jumper, he grabbed the item and added it along with the eye patch.
"Here Nick, I found a jacket like yours."
Fury followed the small boy's voice and found him looking through a selection of tiny jackets. One in particular was pulled from the small rack and handed to him. Nick couldn't believe it, it was almost an exact replica of his own. Chuckling he gave the boy a high five, silently thanking him for his help.
"I hope he likes it," His little helper exclaimed, turning to look for his mother and sister. "It was nice meeting you, Nick."
The director was about to ask what the kid's name was when a woman's voice called out, "Phillip! Come on, we're leaving now."
The boy nodded, turning back to Nick with a bright smile. "Bye."
"Bye, kid." Thanks for your help, was left unsaid by the usually intimidating man. Fury didn't believe in coincidence, but the fact that the little boy's name was the same as someone he considered a good friend, perhaps even a little brother, filled his heart with a warmth he was sure had just been added to a stuffed bear.
Moving to the checkout, he listened as the kid in front gave his bear a name and the sales assistant put the details on to their database before handing the kid a certificate. The little boy beamed happily and hugged his new friend, taking his mom's hand as they left the shop.
Stepping up to the checkout Nick placed all the accessories on the counter, finishing with the bear. A rare smile touched his usually blank features when out of the corner of his eye he noticed a policeman's uniform with a gun and holster attached as its accessories. Plucking the last item needed to complete the ensemble, he placed it on top of the other items. Now it was complete.
"What would you like to name him sir?" asked the young clerk.
Nick thought hard for a few moments before deciding, he grinned at the younger man with an almost predatory smirk. "Nicholas Fury."
Not one to argue with the customer, the young man entered the name on to the database, then printed out a birth certificate which stated the bear's name, the date which he was born, height, weight, fur colour and eye colour. Placing all the items in the bag, the dark haired man swiped Nick's credit card. Once the bag was handed to him the clerk wished him a pleasant day.
The director squared his shoulders, his chin held high as he exited the store, and once more his hand drifted into his pocket to deactivate the switch. He'd like to see Phil or Molly try to get the footage of his trip to the toy shop; they'd be sorely disappointed.
With a smug grin Nick headed to his truck.
No one got one up on the Director of SHIELD, not even his friends. With a satisfied grin, Nick slid into the driver's seat placing the bag on the passenger's side. His work for today was complete. With a screech of tyres he headed back to the base where he planned on scaring a fair amount of new agents. He wasn't used to all this fluffy goodness, it was time to restore the balance.
New agents beware.
The End.