Title: Growing Up

Pairings: StarkSpangledBanner, Clint and blackmail.

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, I just play in the same sandbox.

Warnings: Fluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu uffy fluff.

Growing Up

"Dummy, Dummy, stop that, I really need to change out this wheel...you little brat, get back here!" Tony snapped out, growling as the robot sped across his workshop, Dummy's lone bad wheel grating on the concrete floor. "Dammit, Dummy..."

"Need some help?" Tony whirled, but relaxed when Steve's confused face poked in the doorway, one pencil behind his ear and the most adorable paint splatters on his face, neck, and shirt. Tony rubbed a greasy hand through his hair, grinning a little as Steve winced, and gestured towards Dummy, who was cowering across from the charging station, camera quivering.

"Well, Mister Fabulous over there won't let me change out his wheels, since he damaged one of them the last time the workshop's fabrication unit took a hit, and the panels in the floor didn't shut right. And let me tell you, the most pathetic thing in the world is watching that 'bot attempt to get back up right after having tripped over a raised panel." Steve's brow furrowed and he came into the workshop proper, blinking at the faint lines in the concrete.

"Is that...?"

"From the wheel? No, but it is from his hydraulic pump, which means that he's too low to the floor and he's risking setting himself either on fire, or losing his mobility."

"Oh, so it's not an upgrade?"

"Nope, I just need to replace the wheels and check on the mounts, and hope that he doesn't have any other issues...but getting him to come over here and let me do that is proving problematic."

"Let me try. Maybe I can distract him with the sketchpad?" Tony grinned a little, and bowed, motioning for Steve to go ahead. Dummy did like to draw a lot, and while normally Tony was a jealous bastard over both his 'bots and his lovers, he didn't mind it so much when the two worked together. Bruce and Butterfingers were inseperable these days, and Steve and Dummy...he hid a smile and started laying out the wheels, prepping for the very minor surgery as Steve slowly coaxed Dummy out. They were pretty cute...

"C'mon, buddy, it's okay...it's like when I run out of pencil lead, and I need a new one." At that, Dummy slid back into his corner, and Tony stared as his 'bot, his beloved, seventeen-year-old 'bot, pulled a piece of sheeting off of the desk nearby and covered himself with it, shaking all the while.

"Oh, hell..."

"I might be able to help." Bruce's voice, soft as ever, nearly made Tony jump out of his skin. Again.

"Jesus, Banner, I swear to god I'm going to put a collar with a bell on you..." Bruce snorted softly and knelt down before Dummy, examining him.

"Not a cat-boy for your pleasure, Tony...Hey, Dummy." He murmured, leaving Tony absolutely white as all the blood in his head rushed south for a moment, though it returned when Steve gave him a look. Tony pouted a little, but settled back against his table, one hand idly playing with the replacement wheel as Bruce peeked under the sheeting. "Hey there, buddy...been a little while since I was down here, eh? Jarvis asked me to come...So, Tony wants to replace a few wheels?"

Dummy's camera nodded a little, and Bruce's face broke into a broad smile.

"And that's scary, right?" Another nod. "Well, I kinda know how that is...when I was little, I broke three of my teeth." He lifted his lip a little, showing Dummy three teeth, all of which looked fine now. "I was running down a hill and tripped on a rock...face-planted into another rock. Dad was pretty mad at me, but a week later, they all fell out, because they were my baby teeth, and they were getting replaced by my grown-up teeth."

He tapped his teeth, and gently stroked Dummy's camera, lifting the sheeting off. "That's what Tony's trying to do now; he's fixing your wheel, so that you can go all over and not hurt yourself. Why don't we go over to the couch, all of us, and Steve and I will stay with you and make sure you know it's going to be okay." Another nod, and Bruce stood up.

And that was how, two hours later, Clint poked his broken nose around the corner and stared at Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner holding a very heavy, very curious robot, as said robot watched his maker replace his wheels. He kept the photos for blackmail down the road.

I'm feeling the ficlet bug. Enjoy!