Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers.

Note: I'm so so sorry about taking so long to update. Like I have said earlier, I have had a lot of trouble with this story and lost inspiration. I am determined to finish just may take quite a bit of time. So hang in there. Also I do not know what the area of Manhattan is like or if they have parks and how those would be. I'm use to a more wooded area so that is what I went by, but it is fiction anyways, so..Anywho, I hope you guys enjoy this craziness! Thanks for all those that favorite, follow, and review. Now on with the story.

"Well that's the closest I've ever come to a heart attack. Let's not do this again."

Steve nodded in agreement, sweat sliding down his face from adrenaline, as he looked down at the sleeping nightmare. No one ever warned him how difficult children could be.

"I suggest we don't tell Bruce about today."

A nervous laugh followed the statement.

"No duh. I'm not up to running from the Hulk."

The Iron-Man let out a sigh, who knew a game could be so scary. Then again maybe they should have known this wouldn't go well considering the day had started out odd. They had seen something they never thought possible. A temper tantrum from the toddler terror. It was over the oddest thing too. It started around lunch time. It had been a lazy morning, with the others not having much to do.

Around lunchtime Bruce noticed that the tiny archer seemed restless and wasn't playing or "training" with his toy weapons. While Banner was cooking, he brought it up to Tony and Steve who were at the island counter. The two Avengers studied their young teammate for a few moments. Tony noticed that Clint was looking out the window for long periods and not interested in much else.

"Maybe he would like to spend time outside?" Iron Man's hand rose up to rub the back of his neck. "I mean we haven't really had time to allow him to play outside after all and it is a nice day."

Stark was correct, it was a nice day. The sun shone high in the sky with fluffy clouds abound. Though that didn't mean it was warm by any means. Oh no, it was quite chilly, the wind was not stopping as seen by the tree's constant movements. Not to mention this was early spring in Manhattan, New York. But Bruce supposed that it couldn't hurt to let Clint play outside as long as he was dressed warmly.

So, it was that after they had all finished eating lunch (Bruce making sure Clint ate his vegetables). The good doctor suggested that they play a game outside. The older Avengers noticed a spark of interest in the arrow-slinging toddler for a split second before it was gone, and Clint spoke neutrally.

"I'm not an actual 3-year-old, I don't need to play games with you guys or at all."

Tony hid his smirk behind a tablet he was reading.

"Okay, so no games. How about a training exercise?"

The young Hawk glared at Iron man in suspicion for a moment before giving in with a slight nod. It beat boredom after all. With all in agreement they got ready to go out. It didn't take long until they were all dressed in warmer clothes. They were about to head out when Bruce noticed Clint didn't have a jacket on. Grabbing a jacket, that Pepper had gotten, he stopped Clint and held it out to him.

"Put this on."

The baby archer glared at the item of clothing like it had offended him. He wasn't even sure why he felt irritated at the idea of wearing it, but he didn't want to. Banner couldn't figure out why Clint was not moving to take the jacket from him. He wondered if he needed help and asked as much. The toddler just shook his head no.

"I don't need to wear that."

He truly believed he didn't as he was dressed pretty warmly already. He had a long sleeve shirt, pants, and gloves. Bruce was a bit surprised by that answer but shook it off.

"I wasn't really asking Clint."

The young assassin scowled at Banner then ignored him and headed towards the exit. Stark and Rogers were behind them and watching everything play out in dismay. Banner put a hand on Clint's shoulder to stop him. Turning the archer to face him, Bruce put down the law.

"You are not going outside unless you wear a jacket."

Clint couldn't fully understand where all this anger was coming from, but it had been growing since the mention of a jacket and at that statement he kind of lost it. To the astonishment of the older Avengers the kid dropped down on the ground on his stomach. Clint was more upset than he ever had been and couldn't help but let out an angered wail from his spot on the ground.

Tony and Steve took a step back startled by the sound. Both shared shocked, wide-eyed looks with each other. Neither were sure what to do in this situation. Simultaneously, they looked towards Banner hoping he had an idea as Clint continued to scream in between crying.

"I don't want a jacket!"

As tiny fist pounded the floor, Bruce just stared at him. To the relief of the other two adults he wasn't turning green. No, instead he seemed to be contemplating how to handle this. Thank God, because they were at a loss. After a few more moments of this ear-drum breaking tantrum Bruce decided to act. The doctor went over to the kitchen table and grabbed a chair. He dragged it to a corner and turned the chair to face the corner. Then he picked up the still wailing toddler and put him in the chair.

"Now, you are going to stay here staring at the corner and think about your actions until I say otherwise, okay?"

Banner gave that a moment to sink in while meeting young Hawk's eyes.

"If you leave this chair you will not be going anywhere at all today, do you understand?"

Bruce knew that sounded kind of harsh because honestly the kid as been stuck inside since the incident a few days ago. But the weather report said it would be nice tomorrow too so he could go then. Once the tiny assassin stopped screaming enough to nodded in compliance the doctor went and sat at the table where he could keep an eye on Clint. He pulled out a tablet to read while he waited. Captain America and Iron Man were frozen in place, astounded at what had happened. After a moment they unfroze, figuring the show was over for now. Since Bruce had it under control, they decided to go do their own thing until the doctor decided punishment was over.

30 minutes later Bruce noticed that Clint seemed much calmer and rational. He was, Clint couldn't believe he had done that. He wasn't even sure where those feelings came from. He was mortified by his actions now. The doctor was heading to get Clint out of the chair when he was suddenly hit with inspiration for a lab project he had been working on. He got the toddler out of the chair and gathered the rest of the Avengers into the living room. Banner hardly waited till everyone was in the room before bursting out,

"I need to finish up a project in the lab, I've been working on it for ages and just got hit with an idea to complete it."

As he handed Clint over to Stark, Steve nodded,

"Okay then we will take Clint outside and train."

Bruce stared fondly at Clint and ruffled his hair.

"Sorry about not playing with you. I'll play later if you want?"

"It's fine." Clint grunted, "And we aren't playing."

Banner just smiled at him and headed to the labs.

The park wasn't too crowded today, likely cause it was chilly. The three Avengers, all with jackets, scanned the area and found a big patch of park near a river that didn't have anyone nearby. Steve took charge once they reached their destinated spot. He decided they were going to play hide-and-seek. The base was the picnic table that they were standing around. Steve would be the one to count and he had to tag them when he found them rather than just finding them. So, the way they won was if they made it to the base without being tagged.

The first few rounds they played went very well, it wasn't till the fourth round that everything went downhill. Steve was it again and was counting. Tony had shot out of sight quickly and Clint was by the river looking for a spot. He looked to the side and saw a tree with limbs low enough for him to climb. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he managed to climb to about the middle of the tree. However, he knew it was still low enough for Steve to reach. He searched around to see what he could do and that is when he noticed that the branch he was on extended over the river. It wasn't very high above the river, but it would make tagging him near impossible. So, the young archer crawled towards the end of the branch. The branch wobbled as he crawled along making Clint wonder if it would hold his weight. Luckily, he made it over the water without it breaking.

Shockingly, Steve found Tony first, or maybe not shockingly as Tony was bored and had collected fallen acorns to throw at the Capsicle. Steve headed towards where the acorns where coming from only to change directions as more acorns hit him from behind. This keep repeating till Rogers got sick of this and charge in the direction of the last thrown acorn. Stark did not expect him to move that fast and so though he tried to move away the Captain had caught the movement and tackled him to the ground. They ended up wrestling, moving closer and closer to the river's edge (and closer to Clint laying on the tree branch). Their wrestling match moved into Clint's sight and he had moved to get a better look, this was a mistake.

A loud crack alarmed the two wrestling Avengers and their insults and fight came to an abrupt stop as they looked towards the sound. Time seemed to freeze, and their breathing stopped as they caught the sight of Clint on a breaking tree branch. There was another crack as the branch broke completely and the kid fell into the river.

"Clint!" Came two simultaneous shouts of terror.

The two Avengers raced towards the river. Normally this wouldn't be a problem. Somehow Clint still retained his ability to swim, at least enough to survive. However, this river was deep enough that someone his size couldn't stand, and the current was going strong. In fact, the current was taking young Clint on down the river. He was trying to keep his head above the water, but the current wasn't making it easy. Steve was the first to jump into the river and swim towards Clint. Tony was about to follow but realized that they may need someone to help pull them out because the banks were steep. Tony ran along the side.

Captain America reached a struggling Clint and brought him to the side while Clint was coughing up water. Steve had started to climb up the bank when Tony reached down towards them and freed Steve's hand by taking Clint from him. His first instinct was to hold on to the kid until he realized that it was Tony taking the toddler. Iron man realized that they had not brought a towel as no one expected to spend time in the river. While Steve finished his climb up the bank, Stark stripped off Clint's wet jacket and pulled off his own his shirt to wrap it around the toddler. He held the shivering kid to his chest as they all made quick time back to the tower.

Once they got back to the tower, and everyone got dried off and warm, they sat in the living room for a moment. It was night by now, the sun had already been going down when they were leaving the park. Steve had a sleepy toddler resting on his chest with his arms around the child as he sat back on the couch. Rogers was almost afraid to let go. Stark sat nearby trying to read but kept stealing glances at the young Hawk, seemingly worried that he could get into trouble while being held. None of them said a word as Clint fell asleep, still taking in the fact of how the toddler nearly drowned today. Once he was completely asleep Tony and Steve laid him down in his crib. Tony left to get ready for the night. Steve stayed in his room with Clint and got ready for bed himself.

A cry awoke Rogers with a start, and he went over to the crib. The baby archer had silent tears falling down his face as he squirmed around in distress. Instinctively, Steve picked up the toddler, pulling him to his chest, and slowly rocking him back and forth for a few moments. Once the kid calmed down some, Rogers laid back down on the bed with the toddler laying on his chest. His last thought before falling back asleep was that he needed to talk to Clint about these nightmares.

-TBC-