Notes: Oh yeah. The older Clint gets, the more he's starting to try out flirting, and I won't lie to you: it's highly entertaining to watch. He's got such confidence! You go, Clint. Seize the day!
Chapter Ten: Now We Have Another Tiny Problem
When Logan, K, and Clint got to Avenger's Tower, none of them were sure what to expect from what Steve said they "had to see for themselves"… but it definitely wasn't two little boys, about Katie's age, giggling and running around with Katie and Susie.
More than that, it was plainly apparent who the boys belonged to. One of them could have been Pietro's mirror image, except for the bright yellow eyes and pointed ears… and the other one had Wanda's dark hair, but it curled like Kurt's above his also-pointed ears. And both of them had pointy-toothed smiles when the newcomers arrived.
"Hi!" called out the white-haired little boy, waving enthusiastically.
"Oh, my God," K breathed out.
Wanda was a brilliant almost-purple from blushing by that point. "I just woke up… and there they were…"
"You need to explain more better," K said, staring between Wanda and the boys.
Wanda's knee was bouncing until Kurt, similarly gobsmacked and purple-colored, put his hand on her knee, and she glanced up at him before she swallowed. "I can affect reality with my powers," she explained. "We had been… we were talking about … well, we were just dreaming about the future, really. Kurt woke up when Tommy jumped on him…"
There was a long beat of silence before Logan couldn't stop the quiet chuckle … that dissolved quickly into outright laughter. The kind of laughter that had him looking for a place to sit down, since he couldn't breathe properly.
"Really, mein Freund," Kurt breathed out, though when Logan was laughing that hard, it was difficult not to join him.
Logan gestured with one hand, wiping tears away with the other. "You didn't even get to do the fun part," he said — and then started cracking up again all over.
"We did," Kurt blustered, though he was turning even more purple.
"So… you magicked kids into existence?" Clint said, one eye closed as he watched the little boys. "Are they permanent?"
"So far," Jan giggled from where the dark-haired boy had climbed into her arms.
"Their names are William and Thomas," Wanda said, finally composing herself a little more. "William has dark hair."
"His name is Billy, and I love him!" Katie declared happily. "He's my bestest boy friend, and Rachel is my bestest girl friend!"
"No offense, Elf," Logan said, still trying to catch a breath as he smiled at him. "But I'd rather stick to the old-fashioned way."
"Yes, well, that was the original thought when we discussed … long-term…" Kurt breathed out.
"Yeah? How come you haven't asked her to marry you yet, then?" Logan teased.
"Well, obviously, I didn't expect—"
"Oh, bad Catholic move," K said, cutting in and slowly shaking her head — though that had Logan chuckling all over again.
"What's a cat lick?" Tommy asked, running almost smack into K and then grinning up at her.
"Your dad is a cat lick," K told him with a little smile. "Hi."
"Cool!" Tommy held up his hands to be picked up. "I'm Tommy. Hi."
K picked him up and gave him a little squeeze. "Hi Tommy, I'm K."
Tommy grinned crookedly and then kissed her full on the mouth. "I like you!"
Katie burst into giggles until she fell over backwards. "He did that to me too, Mom! He's kissy!"
"Cause he's got good taste," Logan laughed.
"He kissed me too," Susie piped up, making a face.
"Still, good taste, Susiazulabee," K said.
Susie giggled. "That's my mom. She never says my name right," she explained to Billy.
"I like her," Billy said, watching the whole interaction between his brother and K with wide eyes and a quiet smile.
"They've been saying that about everything," Tony chuckled. "Everything's new to them. Somehow, they can walk and talk and all that, but everything else? Brand new."
Wanda brushed a hand through her hair. "If I knew I'd done it…"
"No, no," Jan assured her quickly. "This is way too fun. No take-backs!"
"Wanna say hi to your dad's best friend, Tommarry?" K teased, still playing with the white-haired little boy, though she was looking at Kurt.
Tommy grinned and nodded. "Okay. Daddy, which one's your best friend?"
"The one laughing hard enough to fall over," Kurt said, still shaking his head at the whole thing, though no one could stop smiling with how enthusiastic and friendly the little boys were.
"Oh. Hi!" Tommy waved brightly. "Hi, Daddy's best friend who's laughing!"
But that only had Logan smiling more at them. "Hey, kid."
"I'm Tommy," he said. "And I'm silly! That's what everyone says!"
"Yeah, you kissed my wife," Logan said.
"Oh, well, I don't know who is everybody," Tommy said with a shrug. "I just got here."
"That's alright, sweetheart," Wanda said gently. "You'll learn quickly."
"I'm gonna help!" Katie promised. "Just like I help my little brother!"
"She's nice. I like her too," Tommy told K.
"Everybody loves Katie," Jan giggled, still clearly tickled with his things were progressing.
"And Kurt loves Wanda," Katie giggled. "Sooooo much that they made babies!"
"Yeah, they skipped over the babies and went right to sweet little boys," K said, then waved at Billy with the tips of her fingers. "Don't tell me you're shy."
"Hi." Billy grinned and then snuggled into Jan. "I like Jan."
"Jan is very sweet," K agreed, leaning into Logan as Tommy leaned back on her.
"I like 'em," Katie declared before she skipped over to Clint to wrap her arms around him. "Hi! How was the circus?"
"The circus was super fun," Clint promised. He wasn't exactly lying, either, since the circus had been fun. It was just the creeps that had gotten the drop on him while he was there that weren't so much fun.
"Clint, you need to go have the fuzzy blue fella without the tail check you over," K reminded him.
"Oh, so not the new dad?" Clint said, grinning crookedly.
"Yes. That one. The one with Twinkies and Suzie-Q's."
"Did you get hurt at the circus?" Katie asked worriedly, looking her big brother over closer.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Clint promised.
"Yes, you look fine," Kurt said, though he was looking at Logan. "The uniforms… perfectly intact…"
"I think it was big moths," Logan deadpanned as he grabbed a hold of K's uniform near a torn spot and pulled her closer.
"Really big moths," Clint agreed, then grabbed Katie's hand. "You want to come with me? I still don't like doctors."
"My new friends can come too!" Katie said. "Dr. Blue said he wanted to look at them, but we never got there because everyone wanted snuggles."
"That means you, Tommy Two-step," K said.
"My name's Tommy," he said, scrunching up his nose at her.
"Tommaniacal."
"No, Tommy!" he giggled.
"Tomalicious."
"It's okay," Susie said, stepping in just in case Tommy didn't understand teasing yet. "You can play with me. She never says my name right either. It's because she's silly."
"That's because you're too adorable, Susiecute," K promised.
"Yes, I am," Susie giggled.
"C'mon, Tom….mamamamama," Katie said, scrunching up her nose as she tried to come up with a silly name for him. "Let's go see Dr. Blue."
K leaned over to whisper into Katie's hair. "Tomahawk."
Katie squealed with delight, dancing in place with her hands over her mouth. "That one! That one!"
"She's never gonna call him anything else. You know that, right?" Clint said.
"It's sweet," K said. "So … quit stalling and go get looked over so Logan and I can look each other over in peace."
"Eww." Clint made a face.
Katie grinned and held Clint's hand tighter. "It's okay," she promised him. "I'll go with you to the doctor so you're not scared."
"Thanks, Katie," Clint said, taking her with him as they left… and the adults waited until all the kids were out of earshot before they started up their own conversation.
"I think we need a new team," K said in a yawn. "We need people who aren't going to pussy foot around with idiots like this who mess with our kids. Let Mister Frank in on it. He needs a hobby, right?"
"No, he really doesn't," Logan said into her hair.
"What happened?" Kurt asked.
"Idiot put a hit out on the kids, shot Daredevil, and ended up with Castle lookin' out for 'em," Logan summarized. "He looked like he wanted to fight until K pulled the rug out from under him."
"And that led to you getting shot by Castle for standing in the way of a fight?" Kurt teased, obviously trying to piece together why they looked shot up — since he had been so preoccupied with his new little ones (and so had Katie and Susie) that none of this news had reached him yet.
"Frank didn't shoot us," K said, her eyes closed by that time. "He got a kiss on the cheek. No. This was Weapon X idiots that swiped Clint."
Kurt put a hand to his forehead. "This day…"
"Logan's old friend was in the middle of it, too," K said before she twisted partway around to face Logan. "I don't like him. If I see him again and he's alone, I may still stab him."
"Okay," Logan agreed, then shifted so he was a little more comfortable.
"Well, let us be glad Logan's other friends are here and out of trouble," Kurt said, gesturing between himself and Steve. "What happened with Clint?"
"He got shot," Logan said. "The department sent in a strike team to bring him in. Figured out when they had him that he heals now. They think he's biologically K's. So … just about what you'd expect."
"That's the one good side of dealing with black ops like this," Carol said, shaking her head. "They keep each other in the dark. Otherwise, they'd be interested in the process Sinister invented, not just in him being K's kid."
"Mav knew who he was goin' after," Logan said.
"Maverick?" Kurt's eyebrows shot up. "Maverick shot Clint? Where is he?"
"Dunno," Logan said. "Carol's on it. He had his daughter in the middle somehow."
Kurt shook his head at that. "This new generation seems to attract trouble, Logan."
"Oh yeah, totally on them," Logan deadpanned.
Kurt chuckled. "No, I was just… thinking of my own and wondering how much trouble they will have as well."
"Oh yeah, you dove in head-first," Logan said, smiling already. "Hey. You tell your future father-in-law that he's a grandfather yet?"
Kurt let out a long groan and pinched the bridge of his nose as Pietro started to fall apart laughing. "Dibs on that news!" he managed to wheeze out between breaths.
"You're terrible," Wanda told her brother, giving him a sharp glare.
"What are you gonna have the kids call him?" Logan continued, smiling wider the more Pietro laughed.
"Grampneto!" Pietro gasped out from the floor. "Please!"
Logan was laughing harder at that — once again into the uncontrollable tears-in-his eyes level. "Perfect!"
"I have never seen this before," Kurt told Wanda, shaking his head but unable to stop his smile all the same. "They're never ... like… this."
"I can't even begin to figure out what is happening here," Wanda said, shaking her head as she got to her feet. "But I'm going to see how the boys are doing with Hank. You can … deal with them."
"You're abandoning me," Kurt said, though he was laughing. "Now that we have our own, you like them better than me," he teased.
"Nah," Logan said. "She just knows you got the harder job."
"I can handle the boys; you can handle our brothers," Wanda said.
"Such faith you have in me," Kurt teased. "I love you too, of course."
"I will take a bribe to shut this one up," K said, leaning heavily on Logan.
"No, no," Kurt said, still laughing. "I need to ask him to be my best man!"
"Then I get to hold the shotgun," K insisted.
"Please do. And remember that she was the one who wished them into existence," Kurt insisted, over Pietro's gasps of laughter.
"Do you need to file a police report?" K teased.
Pietro was on the floor. "I'll be a character witness!"
Kurt chuckled. "Well, we simply don't find our children the usual way, you and I," he teased K.
"Excuse you, but Mr. Stark is holding the one I made," K said. "Not all the kids are found."
"Yes, well, we intend to have some that way as well — once we're married." Kurt was shaking his head. "We fell asleep discussing the possibility of marriage, our expectations of the future…"
"Oh, yeah, I'm sure that's not the first time that excuse has been used," K said in a sarcastic tone.
"K, you wound me. I'm a man of my word!" Kurt laughed.
"I didn't mean by you; I just mean 'we were talking and it just happened' has to be in the top ten bad excuses of how kids came into being," K said.
"In my case specifically, it is not," Kurt laughed.
"You tripped," Pietro giggled.
"Yes, Pietro. I tripped," Kurt said dryly.
"I wonder if Grampneto would buy it if we said they weren't magic," K teased. "Then we could get the full 'defend the honor' thing …"
"I think he can do basic math," Pietro laughed. "Four years-ish ago, we were still living on the other side of the world…"
"You sneaky little demon," Logan teased.
"It has to come out sometimes," Kurt said, finally succumbing to the teasing he knew he couldn't escape.
"This is the very best 'I didn't know I was pregnant' story I've ever heard," K decided. "The next thing I know, they're four years old and I don't know how they got here!"
"They are wonderful, though, aren't they?" Kurt said, his eyes shining. "The ears are my favorite, of course."
"I don't know. The white-haired one is awful fresh," K said. "Had to get that from you."
"Oh, of course," Kurt said. "The real question is how Billy is so shy."
"Maybe he just hasn't snuggled up to anyone he thinks is kissable yet," K said.
"Plus, look at Lorna," Pietro said, trying to pick himself up from the floor. "That shy came from somewhere."
"Oh, hello, Pietro. Can you breathe again?" Jan teased.
"Barely," he said, grinning hard. "This is the best day ever."
"Well, if you're all taken care of," Logan said, shifting to get to his feet, "I think I'm going to take her out of your way … and you can discuss what kind of penance Kurt has to pay now."
"Oh, don't encourage him," Kurt said, even as Pietro clapped his hands together delightedly.
"Don't come knocking," Logan said.
Kurt shook his head. "I think I'll check in on my boys," he said, disappearing in a poof of smoke, which had Jan giggling when Pietro took off as well.
"Oh, he loves saying 'my boys,' doesn't he?" Jan gushed. "It's so sweet!"
"He really does," K said as Logan pulled her up. "I don't suppose you can babysit Tony babysitting James, could you?"
"Two of my favorite boys in the world? Oh noooooo."
"I think he's soaking up the implications nicely," K told her, but before she could get to teasing more, Logan tossed her over his shoulder and started walking off.
Downstairs, Katie was taking her duties incredibly seriously, sitting beside Clint and holding his hand while they were in the medical suite. Hank could see that Clint was nervous, so he was looking the twins over first, and Katie was rubbing Clint's back like K liked to do when any of the kids were upset. "It's okay," she whispered. "Dr. Blue's good."
"I know," Clint whispered. It was helping to have Katie there, because he was trying to be brave for his sister, though he was still bouncing his foot nervously.
"Do you need a Twinkie first before he checks you over? 'Cause I'll get one. Can I get one for Clint, Dr. Blue?"
"Of course," Hank said. "You know where they are in this lab, don't you?" He pointed to the lower file drawer at his desk. "One drawer below the purple bandages."
Katie grinned, jumped down from the bed she was sitting on with Clint, skipped over to where the Twinkies were, and then climbed back up beside her brother with an encouraging smile.
Clint couldn't help but smile back at her and took the Twinkie. "Thanks, Katie. You're helping me a lot."
"I'm a good sister," Katie agreed.
"You sure are," Clint said, pulling his arms around her in a tight hug and partially hiding in that hug so he could get a hold of himself better by the time Kurt and Pietro arrived with promises to introduce the boys to swinging on the swings and going to the park while Hank finally turned his attention to Clint.
"I got him a Twinkie, just like I said," Katie reported happily.
"She sure did," Clint agreed, though he was shifting quietly. "So, um, I'm all healed. It's just that… well…" He let his voice drop low enough only Hank could hear it and covered his mouth with one hand so Katie couldn't read his lips. "I got shot and drugged, so Mom's nervous."
"With good reason," Hank said. "We need to do the usual scans for trackers, of course."
"Carol did that," Clint said. "After Mom stuck one in the guy with the cute daughter."
"Ooooh, do you have a crush?" Susie asked, grinning widely as she broke into the conversation. She was very bad at eavesdropping.
"I just think she's cute," Clint said with a shrug. "And she is."
"What's her name? How come we haven't met her? Are we gonna meet her?" Susie asked, suddenly much more interested now that there was the possibility of romance.
"I don't think so," Clint said. "Dad told her dad to call if she needed training."
"Well, we should meet her," Susie insisted. "Anybody that you have a crush on has to be special, seeing as the last one magicked whole people!"
"She's special just because Clint likes her," Katie said.
"That's right," Clint agreed. "And she's cute."
"Clint and—" Katie paused. "What's her name?"
"Kristie."
"Clint and Kristie sitting in a tree!" Katie jumped down from her spot on the bed and started running around in circles singing at the top of her lungs.
Clint shook his head and then smiled toward Hank. "Little sisters, right?"
"I suppose so," Hank said with a laugh. "Though they say the same about brothers."
"Yeah, well, I've got two of 'em right here teasing me about girls," Clint pointed out, gesturing to Katie and Susie crooning over his new crush.
"And you're under the false impression that Barney would refrain?"
"Good point. He's with everyone at the school right now, or I'd be getting it from him and Katie and Susie."
"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Katie and Susie were singing together by that point.
Clint shook his head and looked over at Hank. "This is my life now."
"And when do you expect Scott to bring him here to check in on you?" Hank asked, his eyes twinkling with laughter he wasn't even trying to hide in the face of Clint's adorable siblings.
"Probably any second now," Clint admitted. "Barney was pretty upset. He saw me get grabbed. And he's not used to stuff like that. He doesn't live with heroes full-time, you know."
"I can assure you, Clint, even if he was used to it, he'd still want to check on you," Hank said. "Did you notice how many of the Avengers were peeking in on your return?"
"I thought they were all gathered up for the new boys?"
"Then you missed the way that Tony stayed around with James just long enough to make sure you were fine before he left the room."
Clint bit his lip. "I didn't notice that," he admitted.
"Everyone on the team was checking in on you," Hank said. "And I can tell you with the utmost confidence that the X-Men are just as concerned. Don't think that Scott and Barney will be alone."
Clint shifted. "I don't mean to worry everyone," he said. "This just kind of… happens."
"It's simply because they all care," Hank said as he worked. "Tell me: when Jean or Scott have been hurt — or Ororo — do you check in on them?"
Clint nodded. "Yeah, especially if it's one of my friends," he said. "Or Kitty or Jubes — since they're my dad's too, you know."
"It's a sign of affection," Hank said gently.
"Yeah." Clint held his breath — and then, to Hank's surprise, Clint suddenly attached to him in a hug while the girls were distracted, hiding his face in Hank's fur. "I'm really tired of getting caught," he mumbled as he clutched on tight.
"Then we'll have to work on making you harder to catch," Hank told him, wrapping him up in a hug and staying there for as long as Clint needed him to.
Clint kept up the hug for longer than Hank had been expecting him to, until he felt like he had a handle on himself, though his breath was still shuddering when he took it in. "I told Mom… I told Mom and Dad maybe I can start learning and training now instead of in two years," he whispered.
"I think if it helps you at all, that would be a very wise idea," Hank said.
Clint nodded. "That's what Mom said. She said I get kidnapped enough I'm practically an X-Man."
"You truly are."
"I'm kind of tired of it, you know?"
"You're not the only one. I don't know if you've noticed, but Scott has been getting gray hairs already … and only since you've been here," Hank teased. "He can't handle the younger crowd in the line of fire."
"I don't mean to turn him older," Clint said sincerely.
"When I met him, he was already doing a fine job of impersonating a fifty-year-old."
"How old was he then?" Clint asked with a crooked grin, already suspecting the answer.
"We were teenagers."
"Sounds right," Clint said, finally letting go of Hank all the way and scrubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. "You won't tell anyone I cried, will you? Heroes aren't supposed to do that, right?"
"I think you'd be surprised at who openly cries."
"Yeah, I already saw Jean do it, and I know she's a hero and all, but she's also Jean."
"Believe it or not, everyone on the team has their moments," Hank swore.
"Even you?"
"Even me. And your dad."
"Huh." Clint tipped his head to the side as he considered it before he nodded at last. "Alright. Well. We can chalk this up to me being tired and shot, right? Which, by the way, really hurts, and I don't recommend it at all."
"If that's what you'd like to do," Hank said. "And yes, it is one of the least comfortable experiences I can think of."
"Do you think it'll happen a lot once I'm on two teams?"
"It certainly is a larger risk on the X-Men," Hank admitted. "But I'm also very sure that between Tony and Jan, we can come up with some reasonably bulletproof options for you to wear in your uniform."
"Yeah, I know they were talking about it ever since Steve got upset when I told him about how the X-Men have super crazy problems," Clint said, nodding and biting his lip. "I'm glad they're worried about us, but I hate worrying people. Does that make sense?"
"It does. But you can't control how people react," Hank said. "Those that love you will always worry to some degree."
"Yeah, I guess. I worry about my sisters all the time. And my brother too. The Department wanted to know if Mom had any more kids. That's gonna be a problem, huh?"
"I believe that was going to be a problem for her no matter what," Hank told him, though he looked deeply troubled on hearing it. "At least until we find a way to put an end to the Department."
"I want to help end them," Clint said sincerely. "It's getting real personal."
"We'll need all the help we can get," Hank said before he let his voice drop quieter. "I'll be honest with you Clint — because I think you're old enough and experienced enough to know — neither of your parents think that we'll ever see that happen. They have given up hope of ending them."
Clint's eyes were wide, and he was practically holding his breath as he leaned forward. "They can't give up!" he said in a fierce whisper. "They — they can do anything! I know they can!"
"You have to understand that those people have hurt both of them worse than anyone else could even consider."
"I know. Mom told me when it was just me and her," Clint said, obviously upset and speaking at barely a whisper. "I just didn't know she'd given up. That doesn't sound like my mom."
"It doesn't usually fit Logan either," Hank agreed.
"I want to help," Clint insisted. "I know I can. I took down a whole team before I got grabbed. Just think about how good I can be with training for the team! Dad says I need to learn to come up with plans before I rush in. I need more than just learning how to fight back. I need to learn how to fight."
Hank nodded. "It might be wise to have Jean or the professor see what it was that happened while you were there."
Clint nodded quickly, almost eagerly. "Whatever you gotta know, I'll tell you. I promise. I want to save Mom and Dad from those guys. They should never get to touch them or James ever."
"We all feel that way, Clint," Hank promised before he finished up his exam and, instead of the usual Twinkie, he swept him up in another bear hug. "You're in wonderful shape."
Clint wrapped his arms around Hank's shoulders. "You know you're the only doctor I don't hate, right? Even if I get scared?"
"I take that honor very seriously, too," Hank told him. "Which is why I feel completely comfortable telling you that there are peanut butter cups in the bottom right hand drawer of my desk."