"Rise and shine, hawkling," Clint sing-songed, yanking the covers off of Ava's bed.
His 16-year-old daughter groaned loudly and shoved her head under the pillow.
"No," her voice was muffled, "I won't and you can't make me."
Clint laughed, "Kiddo, you're shorter than your mom, I can throw you over my shoulder and we'll be out of here in five."
One corner of the pillow lifted and Ava glared at her dad with one green eye.
"I hate you," she muttered, kicking at his hand.
"Love you too," he grinned, "Now grab your flannels, we're off to the farm."
Ava moaned and curled up in a little ball, making it clear she had no intentions of moving.
Clint shook his head and took a sip of coffee from his travel mug; "I really hope your mom is having better luck with your brother."
In the next room over, Natasha was sitting on the edge of her son's bed, biding her time.
She had sent the 10-year-old to bed at 9 the night before, and if her math was right, waking him up in 5 minutes would be right at the end of his REM cycle, making it really easy for him to get up.
Natasha watched, a soft smile on her face, as Maks' eyelids twitched in his sleep. She wondered what he was dreaming of.
Natasha looked at her watch and smiled before gently nudging Maks' shoulder.
"Maks, get up. We're leaving soon," she smoothed a hand over his back and Maks muttered something under his breath.
"What did you say, маленькая обезьянка?" Little monkey. She asked, pulling the covers back.
"Can I ride my лошадь?" Horse. He asked, rolling onto his back and blinking sleepily at the light from his lamp.
Natasha laughed, "Da. Of course. I'll even race you."
Maks grinned, showing off his missing eye teeth, "I'm gonna beat you this time."
"We'll see," Natasha grinned, leaning forward to plant a kiss on her son's forehead, "But we won't know until you get dressed and we get going."
Maks was already hopping out of bed before Natasha could finish her sentence.
"My cowboy hat is still at the farm, right?" He asked, struggling into a long sleeved Iron Man t-shirt.
Natasha rolled her eyes at the merchandise that Tony had given her son as a "just because" present, "Yes. Your hat and boots are still at the farm."
She made the bed quickly, straightening the few stuffed toys that still lingered in her baby's room.
"Brush you teeth and come to the kitchen for breakfast, Maks," she said, bending down and grabbing her son's duffel bag before she left.
"I don't understand why we couldn't have taken the Quinjet," Ava said, simultaneously texting Sarah Rogers to complain about the car ride.
The fact that her best friend was still home in New York and working her way through all the best food trucks in town with her younger brother, AJ, and Eddie Stark was driving her even more insane than her own younger brother.
Clint stopped singing along to the radio for a minute to answer, "Because, Ava, my darling, driving out to the countryside is what makes the experience."
Natasha hid a small smile as her daughter rolled her eyes.
"Mom," Maks said, "Can we go hiking too?"
Natasha nodded, "Whatever you guys want. We're here until Monday afternoon. Plenty of time for fun."
Clint reached over to squeeze her knee and shoot her a happy grin.
Ava's teenage angst melted a little as she watched her parents have a silent conversation with their eyes. It was kind of nice to see her parents still in love.
Especially considering one was a former assassin and the other was a sharpshooter known for never missing his target.
"On your mark, get set, GO!" Ava shouted, spurring her horse into a gallop. She giggled wildly as the chestnut mare galloped through the field, sending the wind whipping through her hair.
"Hey! Slow down," Maks whined from behind her, "Simba isn't as fast as Zeus."
Clint and Natasha were taking a more leisurely ride behind their kids, a picnic basket resting on the saddle behind Clint.
"I knew she'd mellow out," Clint grinned.
"Of course she did," Natasha said, "She's just upset that we pulled her away from Sarah and Eddie for their long weekend."
Clint sighed, his smile slipping, "I feel bad about that. But, with the new undercover happening next week, I wanted to spend some quality time with them."
Natasha nodded, "I know, Clint. I get it. I think Ave gets it too. Once she woke up, she was a little clingy."
"I noticed," Clint said, looking out at where their kids were riding, "You think we're doing right by them? We're gone almost as much as we're home."
Natasha chewed at her lower lip, "I think so. We're doing the best we can, Clint. They know what we do, they love us, and they're not little criminals. We're trying."
"You ever think about getting out?" Clint asked, adjusting his hat.
Natasha frowned, "I thought this was supposed to be a happy, easy weekend at the farm, Barton?"
Clint laughed quickly and easily, "Sorry! Okay, no more talk about that. Happy stuff. Light stuff. Wait! We need to plot against Barnes and Carter. They drank the last of my special coffee blend on Wednesday."
"We'll consult the kids during lunch," Natasha smiled slyly, "Maks is becoming quite the prankster."
"We've taught them well," Clint said proudly, resting his hand over his heart.
"Daddy?" Ava followed Clint closely the next morning as he gathered up eggs and started to feed the chickens.
Clint paused. Ava only called him 'Daddy' when she was scared or nervous about something.
"What's up, baby?" He asked, turning to lean against the chicken coop so he could face her.
Ava tugged her hair over her shoulder, the thick red strands woven into a loose French braid, and twisted the free ends around her fingers.
"I know you and Mom said you didn't want us joining the family business, but I've been helping Aunt Maria after school some days and I really like it and I want to work for SHIELD when I graduate," Ava let all of the words out on one breath and her shoulders slumped when she finished.
Clint was quiet as Ava's words sunk in. Then he grinned, "Hey, if that's what you want to do, Mom and I will support you."
Ava's eyebrows raised, "Really?"
Clint scoffed and slung his arms around Ava in a hug, "Yeah, really. What? Did you think we were gonna disown you?"
"I dunno," Ava mumbled into Clint's flannel shirt, "You just never seemed to want us involved."
Clint rested his chin on Ava's head, "I didn't want you to feel like you had to join. If you want to join on your own account, then SHIELD is lucky to have you."
Ava pulled back and quickly kissed Clint's cheek, "Thanks, dad!"
She grabbed the basket of eggs and darted back to the house.
Clint followed at a more leisurely pace, pretty proud of his kid.
"Ave wants to join SHIELD when she graduates," Clint said in between pressing kisses to Natasha's back.
Natasha hummed, "What did you tell her?"
"That." Kiss. "We." Kiss. "Support." Kiss. "Her."
"Good," Natasha purred, flipping so she was straddling Clint's lap, "Now that we've established that we're good parents, let's not talk."
"I love not talking," Clint grinned, gripping Natasha's hips tightly.
She crushed her lips to his and there was no more talking.
A/N: Whoooo! I FINALLY saw AoU (and I'm ignoring all of the romantic entanglements that start with Brucetsha and end with Clint having a hidden wife and kids) (also Pietro's death didn't happen, but that's a story for a different oneshot).
Onto the story! Now that we're not going chronologically, we're getting to see some older Barton kids! I hope you guys like Ava and Maks as much as you like Liam and Mikey!
I have some more ideas that are going to be written in the coming weeks, but as always, drop me a review letting me know what you think and include a prompt or two if you want!
I'll be away starting at 2 this afternoon, but I'll have my phone on me if you guys want to chat AoU! :D