Tony said nothing as he drove the two of them back to Stark Towers. He had no idea what to say about the whole situation. His mind was focused on Clint's lost memories. Was Clint stuck in the past? Could the boy have forgotten everything? Was this actually an attempt at running away or was it really just a misunderstanding?

JARVIS made sure to tell Pepper about what happened and she had sent a text to Tony saying that she was dealing with it as fast as she could. The CEO was used to many possible situations like this. Tony actually had no idea how many times there had been moments were random strangers had gone to the press claiming to be related to Tony. Or other such insane stories. Covering something like this couldn't be hard? There was no way they could allow OCFS to get a hold of Clint.

Speaking of, the boy just sat in the passenger seat, focused on the floor. He said nothing about what had happened and what was going to happen. Nor did he want to talk about it. Clint had no mention of what was going on in his head. Gave no indication as to how much of his memories had been lost (not that Tony would be able to place it easily). Tony looked at the boy for a brief second before sighing. He had no idea how to start this much needed conversation.

A few minutes later, Tony pulled into the garage of Stark Towers. Pepper had already sent a second text, explaining that she'd be a while and wouldn't greet them. And with no one else in the tower, Tony and Clint just sat there in the car. Tony cut off the engine but still sat there, gripping the wheel as he wondered what he could say. Clint didn't look up. He kept staring at the floor, lost in his thoughts. They were like that for another five minutes before Clint looked over at Tony.

"Are you going to send me back?" Clint softly asked. Tony jerked his head over to look at Clint dumbfounded.

"What? No! Hell, no!" Tony called, believing that Clint was talking about the police department. Clint looked back to the floor. "What makes you think I would?"

"Anyone else would," Clint muttered. Tony frowned deeply before fully turning to face Clint. "I've been sent away from a couple of different homes already. I never stay for more than a week. I'm usually... 'Too much to handle.'"

Tony's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. Clint had fully regressed back to six years old. The boy had lost everything. Tony had secretly been having JARVIS relaying everything to him that Clint did. All the recordings that the duo had set up, everything that Clint asked repeated, or whatever. But something about this situation had made Clint rapidly go from basically just recruiting Natasha into S.H.I.E.L.D, all the way back. Tony shook his head and placed a hand on Clint's shoulder to make the boy look at him.

"I will never get rid of you. I will never send you away. An anyone who thinks they should, are stupid, evil people," Tony reprimanded Clint. The boy winced at the genius's tone. Tony moved his hand to pull the boy into a hug but paused and watched as Clint winced again. He frowned before remembering that Clint was getting closer to ages that he had been beaten at. Of course a stranger's hand coming toward him would make him frightened. "Clint, you never need to worry about something like that from me."

"I... I know... I mean... Well, JARVIS tells me that we're friends but... I... Just yesterday, I was in Georgia... I... I don't remember coming here," Clint whined, looking away from the genius. Tony sighed deeply. Things were getting too complicated for him.

"Look, I know things must be really confusing for you..." Tony began but Clint looked up at him.

"What are the Avengers?" he asked, clear as day. Tony paused, unsure how to respond. Last he knew, he still couldn't mention anything without risking a seizure. But JARVIS had sometimes mentioned things and nothing happened. Heck, Clint had even sometimes found things from his other life. "Why do I have a picture of a guy that looks like me, in an outfit I dreamed up just last night, wrapping my arms around your shoulders? And why is Captain America in that picture, didn't he die in the 40s?"

"Uh... Well," Tony stuttered. How could Clint remember these sort of things but not everything else? What was going on? This memory loss thing was really strange. Tony so wished he could test it but doing experiments on Clint could be very dangerous. In fact, this whole conversation was very dangerous. Tony shifted in his seat. Clint frowned, noticing that the genius was looking for a way out.

"Am... Am I actually 30?" Clint questioned. Tony stared at him for a bit before finally nodding. Clint frowned. "What happened?"

"There... There was an accident. You... Somehow a serum that one of our friends was working on got injected into you. You then turned into a six year old. At first, you still had all your memories but... You began to forget everything and switch back to when you were six," Tony explained. Clint nodded. "I've been trying to fix this. That's why I've been in the lab so much. But... I need our friend's help and... Well, he got kidnapped a while back and we can't find him. In fact... I think Steve might be coming back soon."

"Captain America? Really?" Clint called. Tony nodded. "Does he know?"

"Uh... No... I haven't really told any of our friends outside of Pepper," Tony admitted with a bit of a dark chuckle. Clint frowned and gave the genius a disbelieving look. Tony shrugged.

"Is that a good idea?"

"I... I don't know."

Pepper arrived back into the tower later that night looking very hassled. She had spent all afternoon trying to fix what had happened. Reporters, OCFS, S.H.I.E.L.D, fans and so many more people seemed to think it was their problem that Tony had 'adopted' someone. Some of the people, she gave more credit too. But the issue with OCFS and S.H.I.E.L.D were defiantly her top priority.

Thankfully, Fury was willing to drop the subject after telling Pepper (to tell Tony) that if Bruce was never returned, then Clint was never going to get fixed so the genius better get on the case of finding Bruce. That meant that Fury redirected Steve's quinjet to land at the Helicarrier rather than Stark Tower. Steve not learning about Clint's condition meant that the leader would be focused only on the one missing member of the Avengers and not the other 'kid' Avenger as well. One less issue for Tony to worry about, at the moment.

But OCFS was another matter entirely. They wouldn't just accept what she said, especially considering the old files they had on Clint. The matter wouldn't be dropped easily with them. OCFS demanded to see Clint personally, review Tony, check out the tower, and other things. Everything that couldn't be done over the phone. Also, Fury couldn't even step in and help mediate it. Pepper did try.

"Tony, I can't make this go away," Pepper whined to her boyfriend after she determined that Clint was asleep and that they could talk in the kitchen. Tony frowned.

"I'm not asking you too. I mean, how hard can it be to just adopt him?" Tony wondered. Pepper sighed.

"Apparently, really hard. Made worse by the fact that this is Avengers head quarters," Pepper moaned. Tony scoffed.

"You'd think people would think he's safer here," he muttered. Pepper sighed.

"OCFS is terrified of Bruce. Never mind that they claim that Thor's physiology could be a danger to Clint. And they also seem to believe that we'd allow him in the lab while you're testing dangerous things. Like the Iron Man armor," Pepper claimed. Tony lightly laughed as he remembered the many times that Clint had come down to the lab to talk to him in the past few weeks. There was no way he was going to mention that and he'd also make sure that JARVIS wouldn't mention it to OCFS either. "They need to make sure this is a safe place. And considering how many weapons Natasha and Clint were supposed to have hidden everywhere, I'm not so sure that it is."

"Oh, come on! He knows better than to play with guns!" Tony claimed. Pepper leveled a harden gaze on the genius. Tony blanched as he realized who they were talking about. Clint did learn how to use knives and a bow and arrow at a circus at the age of ten. If he had aged four years older, he'd be using the training ranges already. OCFS would love that. "Well... I think he does. Sides, JARVIS would let us know!"

"Before or after Clint shoots himself? Not that I'm discrediting JARVIS, but we have to be serious," Pepper stated. "These people have the power and ability to take Clint away if it is deemed a danger to his health to stay here."

"He's not in danger! We're the safest place for him!" Tony snapped.

"Tony, on one of the first days that Clint was de-aged I found an empty beer bottle in the living room!" Pepper cried. Tony frowned. Since Clint had turned six, he hadn't actually been drinking. He'd been staying sober so he could study. Pepper placed her hands on her hips. "It was Clint favorite beer. JARVIS even stated that he watched Clint drink it and didn't stop him. Heck, I even cleaned it up and didn't say anything!"

"Well... We didn't think," Tony mumbled.

"Exactly, we didn't think. Clint looks six years old to the rest of the world now. We have to act like that all the time now," Pepper told the genius. Tony winced.

"Actually, about that. He lost all his memories now." Pepper groaned and walked away. Tony sighed. "Look, I swear, we can be good parents for Clint. We can do this. OCFS will have nothing on us. We can be resonsible."

"But Tony, we have to prove it. We have to prove that we'd be good parents," she told him. Tony opened his mouth to speak but she halted him. "We have to be here for him. He needs to be educated, feed, loved."

"We can do that," Tony tried to claim. Pepper frowned.

"JARVIS, in the past week, how long have Tony and I been in Clint's presence?" Pepper asked the AI. Tony frowned, understanding what his girlfriend was getting at. They needed to be there for him. He was a kid now, not a 30 year old who just looked like a kid. Clint needed attention and human interaction.

"A total of two and a half hours," JARVIS mentioned. Tony groaned and leaned against the kitchen island. He had no idea what to say to that. There was no argument to be made for OCFS. How do you explain that he was in the lab trying to cure the six year old of being a six year old? Would they even believe Tony? Pepper sighed before moving to pull Tony into a hug. Tony hugged her back.

"Starting right now, we have to be around Clint at all times," Pepper stated, backing away. Tony looked at her. She had tears in her eyes. He sighed deeply. In these few weeks, dealing with Clint, they have all grown really close. Pepper most of all. So this situation was just very painful and dangerous. Tony gave her a soft smile as he brushed away some fallen tears drops. "S.H.I.E.L.D knows and is working on finding Bruce. Fury said he'd call if they got any news. For now, we need to make sure Clint doesn't get taken away."

"I'll be on my best behavior," Tony promised.

"That's kind of what I'm afraid of," Pepper laughed lightly.

For the next two days, Tony and Pepper don't leave Clint's side unless he is in the bathroom or going to bed. At first, Clint seemed bothered by their sudden need to 'smother' him but after a while, he got used to it. Things seemed to go to normal rather quickly. They never mentioned that anything was going to be different or that anything was changing. It was just that they were there.

Pepper loved to cook for Clint. Sometimes it wasn't the best, but the boy dealt with her good intentions. Not many people tended to try and do things like that for him. It was nice. Besides, even when the food was bad, it never did end up getting him sick or anything. Clint actually did really like it.

Tony loved getting Clint sucked into pranks on poor Pepper, but thankfully she took it in good stride. A lot of them involved using JARVIS. Most of the pranks were small harmless things like changing the channel on the TV or turning up the volume, moving her tablet, hiding her phone... Things like that. Sometimes it was bigger things like changing the shampoo in the shower with body soap, or switching her favorite yogurt smoothie with mayo. The biggest thing they did was making JARVIS not respond to her at all for two hours. But that stopped once Pepper almost missed an important call from Fury.

But mostly, the duo talked with the boy. They encouraged Clint to try new things and do whatever he wanted. He actually enjoyed the freedom. At the end of the second day, Tony's attitude changed after a private phone call that he took in his lab. The genius mentioned to Pepper that someone was coming over the next day, but Clint wasn't paying close attention as Pepper had just bought a game system earlier that day. That night, Clint went to bed waiting for the next day hoping for it to be just as good as this day.

"Good morning Clint Barton. My name is JARVIS. I am the artificial intelligence unit that works throughout all of Stark Towers. You have been living here for some time now with Mr. Tony Stark and Miss. Pepper Potts. They have been caring for you and wish to adopt you. Your brother Barney is currently missing and we are working hard to ascertain his whereabouts. Currently, Mr. Stark and Miss. Potts are upstairs in the communal kitchen with a guest. There is a short movie about to start on the TV in your living room, if you would please watch that before heading upstairs, it would be most welcomed," JARVIS intoned as normal the second Clint woke. He smiled. For the past two days, his memory hasn't failed him on what had been going on here at Stark Towers. He remembered getting caught by the police (but not why) and most of what happened after. So, he didn't really need to watch the video.

"Thanks JARVIS, but I think I'm good today," the boy replied, remembering speaking with JARVIS about why he always greeted the boy in such fashion. JARVIS hummed a noncommittal answer as Clint began dressing himself for the day. Having known about Tony's 'joke outfits' in his closet, Clint headed over there. For some reason he felt the need to wear one of those outfits today. Smiling, he saw the red and gold outfit that looked similar to a mechanical suit that Tony had in his lab. Without another thought, Clint dressed himself in that and headed upstairs. Briefly he caught sight of the TV. It was currently playing a video of him as his older self, fighting alongside other Avengers. He smiled. It was great knowing that his future would lead him to be a part of such a great team. For a moment he wished he remembered more of his older life but then figured if he did, he wouldn't need such reminders from JARVIS.

The elevator ride to the communal floor was just a quick and silent as normal. Tony and Pepper were usually nice enough to let him wake on his own and wander down when he felt the need to. Sometimes, if JARVIS gave enough warning, Pepper would have food waiting or Tony would just about be queuing up a movie of some sort. But today, when the elevator opened, Clint could sense the tension without even seeing a single person. Something was different, something he wouldn't like. Remembering JARVIS mentioned that Tony and Pepper were with a guest in the kitchen, Clint slowly headed over that way. As he did, he spotted 'Stevie' sitting on a tabletop. Tony must have brought him up sometime last night or this morning. Needing some comfort, Clint grabbed the stuffed bear before continuing on.

"I understand that you are part of the Avengers and that normally there are many other adults here, but you must know that we have to check on every person. You could be the Dahlia Lama, or Gandhi but we still must make sure this is a good home for the child," an odd sounding female declared. Clint stiffened, hugging the bear tight to his chest. This woman sounded governmental. Already, he didn't like her. Slowly, he peeked around the corner. Tony and Pepper were sitting on one side of the kitchen table, the side that faced toward him. The other side, with her back to him, was the guest. She was a rather plump woman with short dark brown hair. The hair puffed out around her ears, an indication that she wore glasses. Like he thought she might, she wore a business like suit and high, high heels.

"Clint is doing wonderful here. He is a great addition to our home," Pepper kindly stated, placing her hand on Tony's when he went to open his mouth. Clint smiled, wondering how often Tony had put his foot in his mouth already. The boy had quickly learned that while Tony might be a genius, that didn't mean that the billionaire could handle social interactions well. And this seemed like a very important social interaction.

"So it may seem. But, a six year old in this type of home may not be best. In this kitchen alone, I can find fifteen potential dangers to him that have not been taken care of," the woman proudly stated. Clint frowned and glanced around. Stove, knives, oven, non-covered outlets, cabinet doors, table top corners, the island, medicine, cleaning supplies... After that, Clint could only guess. He shuddered. Yeah, he was six years old but that didn't mean he was stupid. He wasn't going to get into things he wasn't supposed to. Especially when Tony and Pepper were so nice to him.

"Clint is smart enough to not get into those things. JARVIS also is always on duty," Tony snapped. Pepper groaned. Clint smirked. Apparently this was an issue that she hadn't wanted mentioned. The other woman snorted.

"This, jarvis, is a computer. Computers cannot be entrusted with a child's safety," the woman said as if she had said this before. Tony clenched his hands together. A sign that Clint had come to know that meant that Tony was getting upset. "A computer cannot tell if a child is going to put itself in harm's way like a person can. Nor can it stop the child if it decides to ignore sound advice."

"Miss Mascioli," Pepper began.

"Please, Karen. Call me, Karen," Karen told her. Pepper nodded.

"Karen, JARVIS is not entrusted to watch over Clint as if he were a babysitter. JARVIS warns us when he notices possibly harmful situations. For example, if Tony were in the bathroom and I was cooking dinner and Clint happened to come into the kitchen and notice a knife in hand's reach, JARVIS may warn me that Clint has arrived and is currently heading toward the knife before I notice him," Pepper explained in a calm manner. Karen nodded but Clint could tell that she didn't believe the CEO.

"Now, I have heard that for the past few days, you both have not left the living part of the tower," Karen loudly noted. Pepper nodded, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. Tony pulled a phone out of his pocket and began fiddling with it in haste. Clint gripped Stevie's arm tightly. Did Karen have a spy somewhere around here? How did she know that? "Is that not going to become an issue for Stark Industries?"

"Stark Industries is just below us and if they need my help, they can call me through JARVIS at any point. I am free to work here as needed for as long as needed," Pepper mentioned, her hands gripping her clothing tightly in anger. Karen looked to Tony. She paused when she noticed that he was messing with his phone. Pepper glanced at the genius and elbowed him when she noticed that he was doing something else. Tony looked up, surprised before noticing that Karen was looking at him with a frown.

"I work mostly in the lab, doing... Sciencey stuff. But I can take as many breaks as I want to. It's my company," Tony grumbled. Karen nodded and wrote something down. "Look, this is ridiculous, Clint is fine here. He's safe, wanted. What more can we do?"

"Listen, Mr. Stark. As I have said numerous times before, we must check on everyone. Every house is examined to make sure it is indeed the best fit for each child. As our records on this particular boy seem to be missing, we must be extra thorough," Karen mentioned. Tony almost snarled but held back and simply nodded. That was when Pepper noticed Clint peeking around the corner.

"Oh, Clint! Good morning! Why don't you come meet our guest?" Pepper softly suggested. Clint nodded as Karen turned around. He looked at her and for a moment he thought her eyes were pitch black but then he noticed that they were actually a dark brown. Slowly he moved closer, tucking Stevie in front of him as a line of defense. Tony snorted at the sight of Clint in the Iron Man outfit holding a Captain America bear also dressed in an Iron Man outfit. Karen stood, paying no mind to the outfit and bear, and moved toward Clint before crouching down to the boy's level. She plastered a fake smile on her face. Clint did the same in return, even as he held tighter onto Stevie for protection. "This is Karen Mascioli from OCFS. She's here to check on all of us."

"Hello, Clinton," Karen greeted. Clint winced at his full name. This was bad, very bad. Only people who wanted to take him away from families called him Clinton. Clint held back tears as he stared at Karen. He resisted looking over toward Tony cause he knew that if he did, his face would show betrayal.

"Clint... Just Clint," he muttered. Karen nodded, though it was clear that it made no difference to her.

"How are you doing, this morning?" she asked. Clint frowned, debating if he should be honest or not. A glance at Pepper made the decision. He figured he should go with sweet. A change from his past to be honest.

"Okay, I guess," Clint mumbled, kicking his feet at the ground. Karen tilted her head, surprised by the answer. She had assumed that Tony and Pepper would have rehearsed a full sheet of answers for Clint to use by now.

"You guess?" she wondered.

"Are you going to take me away?" he murmured, sounding depressed as he fiddled with Stevie. Karen looked shocked for a second. That wasn't something she expected to hear. Shaking it off, Karen moved on with another question.

"Do you want me too?" she inquired. Clint shook his head no. Karen gave him a hopeful smile. "Then I hope not."

"Good, cause I like them. They're good to me," Clint declared, making Tony straighten up in pride. Pepper smiled brightly at him. Karen nodded. Now she realized her place. Tony had made her out to be the villain in this picture. Clint wasn't going to like her, ever. Karen could deal with that.

"I have heard that others live here as well. Have you seen them?" Clint shook his head. He didn't mind that in the least. Dealing with Tony and Pepper was enough.

"Tony told me that... Uh... Thor is home... Natasha is... Is... Oh, she's visiting family. Steve is... He's vacationing... And... Uh... I think Bruce is... Oh... He's kidnapped!" Clint stated. Karen's eyes widened at that last one before looking to Tony and Pepper in surprise. No one in the world had heard that news. If it broke that an Avenger had been kidnapped, it would be catastrophic. Looking at them as well, Clint could see the horror in their eyes. Suddenly he remembered what he was supposed to say. He laughed as if he caught her in a joke. "No... Sorry, that was a joke. He's with Steve on vacation. Their meeting some friends."

"Okay," Karen hummed as if she didn't believe him. Clint didn't think she did either but considering Tony's history, it wouldn't be surprising. And Karen had signed a NDA just like any other Stark Industries employee upon arrival. So she couldn't go to the press about Bruce being kidnapped without being sued.

"They haven't been around these past two weeks. I think... Tony may have told them to stay away for a bit until... Well, until I settled in," Clint lied. Karen nodded. It made sense. She made a note in her notepad. Someone would have to return to check on Clint once the others made an appearance.

"Are you afraid to meet any of them?" she asked. Clint frowned, wondering why he had to be afraid of them. Tony and Pepper were good people and they vouched for the others. Then he remembered what Bruce could do. His eyes widened in shock. Was that what this was all about?

"No! Bruce only goes green when he's mad and I make sure not to make anyone mad," Clint stated from years of practice with his now dead father. Karen's eyes subtly narrowed at this and Clint wondered if he made a mistake. "Sides, if Green Bruce was bad then he'd attack the other Avengers more often but he doesn't. He only hits Thor in play."

"Don't you fear he might hit you in... 'Play?'" Clint shook his head.

"Nah. Green Bruce knows that Thor can take it," Clint proudly answered. He then leaned in closer to Karen. "Sides, Thor is a god."

"Yes, he is," Karen agreed, again in a tone that stated she more than likely didn't agree. Clint frowned. He was really not liking her. And he was trying to like her. Heck, he was being good and everything. Slowly, Karen stood and turned back to Pepper. "I think it's time that I take that tour now."

"Yes, right away," Pepper called as she jumped to her feet and began to lead the woman into the adjacent living room. As soon as they were both gone, Clint joined Tony at the table. The billionaire looked nervous.

"Did I do good?" Clint whispered to the genius. Tony smiled before looking at Clint.

"Yeah," he said before raising a hand and ruffling Clint's rather long hair. "You did good."

About 4598 words this time. Wow. Lots of words. It just kept flowing out of me. Couldn't believe how easy it was for me.

Baby Clint has been suffering from a high fever this week. Not a real sickness. Just a fever and overall tiredness. The doctor says it's just basically a head cold or something. It seems strange but he shows no other signs of anything else. We've heard everything from a head cold, to growth spurt, to stomach bug, to flu, to some random sickness going around the area. Who knows what it is. All we can do is give him Tylenol to keep the fever down and A/Cs to keep him cool.

Chapter Responses:

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Reviews Responses:

Niom Lambiose - No... No movies for poor little Clint. Tony (and I) completely forgot about the movies after the events at the police station. LOL. I think I'm making Clint suffer with no movies because Baby Clint won't sit still at the real movie theaters anymore and so now my husband and I don't get to go to the movies... Heck, we almost didn't get to go to Avengers Age of Ultron until I told my father that he could use it as my birthday gift to watch Baby Clint so my husband and I could go see it.

sammygirl1963 - OCFS, mess things up? Why would that happen? Tee hee. Actually, this is based on what happened to me. Three days after Baby Clint was born, I got a call from Children Services. A nurse at the hospital that I was staying at called saying that I was unfit because I had major depression and that I owned animals. She took some of my worries that I had of my animals and enhanced them into actual events that would happen to Baby Clint should he come home when she made the report. She also broke hospital policy when she made the report by not going to the head nurse to state her fears and have a consoler examine me. I also had a night with a really bad case of baby blues. When Children Services came, the case worker on my situation basically threatened me and made allegations so far out of her power that for most of Baby Clint's first year I suffered such anxiety that I was too afraid to even leave his side for a second. I couldn't even leave him with family. Even now I still have issues when I drop him off at Day Care and he only goes there three days a week for eight hours a day. And the case has been dropped since he turned a month old... So judging on that, how bad to you think OCFS is going to be to Tony and Pepper, lol.

pottyandweezlbe89 - Yeah. Well actually, I joke with my husband all the time that he's a mix of Tony and Bruce. He has the joking personality of Tony and the split anger personality of Bruce/Hulk. It's really interesting and sometimes really scary. Course I know I have no personality like Pepper. If we go by Clint in the comics or the cartoons were he seems more like (almost) an idiot/jokester, that seems more like me. But my husband refuses to tell me I'm like any of my favorite characters from any show I like, even if I totally am.

MO-5431 - Thank you for the compliment.

BeautifullyDamagedSimplyMe - Here you go, lol. I have in his history that at age 6, his parents just died and he went into an orphanage/foster homes so that's what he is remembering. As the story progresses, he'll act more childish.