Clint just finished drying the dishes when he heard the obnoxious rumble of a car speeding down their long driveway. Putting the last plate in the cabinet and drying his hands with the towel, he walked over to the living room window to see if the sound was caused by the obnoxious person he thought it was.
It was.
Placing the damp towel on a chair to dry, he walked outside to greet the man in the bright red sports car. As Tony turned off the ignition, shades over his eyes, he turned to Clint who was now standing next to the machine.
"Long time no see, Katniss." Tony smirked.
"Same back at you, Richy Rich." Clint smiled. "Thanks for coming."
Tony glanced at Clint through his red tinted shades, as if looking him over for any problems. He took them off as he reached over to grab a small bag that was in the passenger seat. "Yeah, tell me again why you couldn't just swing by the tower?" He asked while getting out of his car.
Clint shrugged at his friend. "I promised the kids I'd take them out to the lake tomorrow."
"Hmm, right. Well, I could use a break from Pepper anyways. She's keeping me a bit too busy," he replied. Pepper was basically the head of Stark Industries now, always bossing him around. Sometimes Tony wondered how those turn of events happened, from him being in charge and her following his orders, to him complying to her requests.
"You'll get used to it," Clint laughed. He knew from experience since he had to get used to Laura running everything while he followed her orders. She was the head of the house, she kept everyone together. Especially when he was away.
"Great advice," He said sarcastically as he wasn't quiet sure if he wanted to be the one following all the orders instead of leading. "But either way, let's get down to business," Tony said as he put a hand on Clint's shoulder while they walked towards the house. "Tell me, what ails you?"
"It sounds like you're treating me like your tech." Clint said, not necessarily liking the way it sounded to be treated as an object he was working on.
"Well my tech is currently in you so….."
"Yeah yeah." Clint replied as they walked into his house. He was right, but he couldn't help but hate talking about it. He avoided the topic as much as possible and hated it when he had to bring it up, such as now. "My left hearing aid isn't working. The right seems fine, but I'm pretty sure the other is busted." He simply explained as they walked into the kitchen.
Tony pulled out a chair and placed his bag on the table. "Well, let's have a look then." He patted the frame of the chair before saying, "Step into my parlor."
Clint flipped the chair around so he could sit in it backwards, letting his elbows rest on the back frame. He preferred to carefully watch what Tony was doing instead of being blind with his back towards him. He didn't want more of his senses out of commission.
Tony took out a pair of seemingly high tech tweezers from his bag and walked up to Clint's bad ear. "Woah," He replied, finally seeing the bruise on the side of his head. "Did your wife punch you in the ear or something?"
"I got punched in the ear, but not by Laura." He said as Tony put the tweezers in his slightly swollen ear and tried to carefully pull out the small device planted inside. "I was on a mission for Fury."
Clint slightly winced as he took out the device, since the metal rubbed against his injury. But he soon placed the aid on the table, he assessed what damage had been done to his precious technology. "I thought you're supposed to be on a break from missions to have some family time."
"Yeah, that's Fury for you." Clint rolled his eyes. "He can't resist sending me out at least once while on break."
"Uh huh…." Tony drifted as he was clearly not paying much attention to Clint's words anymore. He instead focused on the tech in front of him.
Tony examined the piece in silence for a few minutes before saying, "Yeah, that idiot who punched you damaged it pretty well, but it's fixable. I'll be finished in no time." Tony took a seat at the table and took out some glasses, among other tools.
"What's with the glasses?" Clint raised an eyebrow. He hadn't seen Tony wear glasses before unless they were safety googles in his lab or shades. Clint couldn't help but wonder if his friend was getting old and his vision was going with it.
"They're so I can see this tiny thing," He said like it was obvious before looking up with a smirk. "I call them 'Magnifying Glasses.'"
Clint laughed at his pun. "Of course they are." At least he knew Tony wasn't getting too old, he still had the same sense of humor even with those disguised, high-tech glasses.
Clint observed Tony work in silence for a minute before he felt a vibration in his back pocket. He took out his phone, finding a text from Wanda. She was figuring out her plan to visit next weekend. She explained she was a bit swamped with training to come by this week.
As Clint was typing a reply, he didn't hear Laura walk into the kitchen through his bad ear. He jumped, startled, when she put a hand on his shoulder. He frantically looked up, only to see it was her greeting Tony.
"Welcome back, Tony." She beamed as she briefly rubbed her husband's shoulders.
Tony answered without looking up from his work. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"
Clint put one of his hands on Laura's as they sat in place on his shoulders. He gently ran circles with his fingers on her soft skin. "Thanks for stopping by to fix them," Laura replied. "Clint can't stand it when his hearing aids break. Something about hating getting snuck up on…" She smirked as they shared a glance, remembering the startle she gave him when she walked in a few moments prior.
"Yeah, I've noticed this hawk hates jumpscares. I don't know how he stays in this business. Ever watch a horror movie with him?" Tony teased as he took another tool from his bag.
"Oh, he can't stand those things." Laura laughed. "I think his favorite movies are the princess ones he watches with Lila."
"I'm right here you know," Clint stated, slightly annoyed at their teasing but taking into account that it was all in good fun. "And don't knock the princess movies until you've watched them with a daughter who's obsessed with them."
"Well then," Tony started as he moved his glasses onto his head and looked at the piece in the light. "I guess I'll never know how much you like them."
Laura continued to try making casual conversation with Tony to get to know him better. Tony had only visited once with the rest of the Avengers during Ultron's fight, so she never got the chance to get to know all of his teammates that day. They were all preoccupied with the mission at hand and there were a lot of Avengers in her house at once to get to know them all. She only got to know them when they occasionally visited after, but Tony never came back for a visit.
Clint would be lying if he had only wanted Tony to come to the farm to fix his hearing aids. He knew Laura wanted to meet him properly, so he used this as the perfect reason for him to stop by.
But Tony didn't add much to Laura's conversation as he was busy with his task at hand, so she eventually decided that it would be better to get to know him when he wasn't busy. She ended up leaving the room using the crying Nathaniel as an excuse.
Tony was done fixing the aids not long after. "Here, test it out." He said as he walked over to put it back in his ear.
The second it was in place, Clint instantly heard the difference. He took in a sigh of relief as he could actually hear properly again. "That's much better. Thanks Tony."
"I'm a miracle worker," he beamed with his arms spread out in front of him. He said it in more of a joking manner if any, but he couldn't help but love the appreciation. "I'm going to have to check the second one though." He said as he focused on the task again and moved to the opposite ear to take the other hearing aid out.
"Why?" Clint asked, not understanding why he needed to do that.
"They work as a unit," Tony explained. "If one is damaged the other overcompensates to help you hear a bit better out of the 'good' ear. This ear will sound weird now that the other is fixed."
Now understanding, Clint let him take out the other aid and mess with it. The hearing aids were Tony and Bruce's creation they gave him when they discovered Clint had a hearing problem. They were significantly better than the old ones he had, he barely noticed he wore these because they were basically implanted inside his ear. They were all kinds of proof, invisible to the eyes, and he almost never had to take them out.
That was his favorite part, not having to take them out. It helped him forget he had it while it hid the issue from everyone else. He never liked it when people asked how he lost 80% of his hearing. He'd always explain it as constantly being so close to explosions in his day job that it eventually took a toll on his hearing. But it wasn't the complete truth. He just wanted to avoid mentioning he had his fair share of hearing problems as a kid due to some... 'father-inflicted injuries.'
Clint was knocked out of his thoughts as he felt the hearing aid return to his ear. "There, my job is done." Tony stated and started packing up his bag.
"You're not leaving yet, are you? You just got here." Clint asked as he stood up from his chair, noticing it looked a lot like his friend was packing up to go.
"I mean, I don't want to intrude on you and your family." He said. "Plus, I don't think I'm good with…. Tiny agents."
"Kids?" Clint asked, even though he knew the answer. He knew Tony wasn't very comfortable around kids, and that was yet again another reason Clint wanted him to visit. If he actually got to know a couple of kids, then maybe it would help him out with that. "They're harmless, I'm sure they'd love to meet you properly."
"Nah, I think I'm good." Tony replied and started to walk towards the door, Clint trailing behind. "Thanks for the offer though."
Before he could leave however, Clint went by the steps and yelled up them. He was determined to have Tony stay and meet the family officially. "Honey? Should Tony stay for dinner?"
She answered him from upstairs. She still wanted to get to know him so she replied, "Of course, we'd love to have him. Tony's more than welcome to stay."
"You heard the lady," Clint smirked.
Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He seemed more nervous than annoyed. "Well…. I guess I can't disobey the Mrs... Even if I tried to leave I feel like she'd force me to stay anyway."
"See? You're getting to know this family already," Clint patted his friend's back. He was right, when Laura wanted someone to stay for dinner they would be forced to stay for dinner. Clint had yet to see one person get out of it.
Tony looked around the farm house. "So what do you guys do all day anyway? This isn't exactly the city. Not much happens here."
"Relax and chores. That's all that needs to be done out here," Clint simply answered. "You like building, want to help me finish reflooring the sunroom? I started it after Sokovia but when Nathaniel came into play, I haven't had much time to finish it."
"At least it's not boring relaxation," Tony agreed and followed Clint there.
For the next few hours they worked in the half floored sunroom, the occasional barging in of the kids and Laura interrupting them. Laura mainly came to see their progress while the kids wanted to steal the occasional Q and A from the famous billionaire.
Over time, the sun grew low in the sky as they neared the end of their task of putting the floorboards in place.
Laura came in one last time, letting them know she was there by knocking on the door frame. "Dinner will be ready in fifteen, guys. Wow, you two got far."
"Well," Tony started as he wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, "We are a team. Just without Patriot, Green Giant, Assassin Girl, and Goldie Locks…." He said as he put another floorboard into place.
"Assassin Girl? Really? You couldn't have thought of a better nickname for Natasha?" Clint sighed in disbelief while practically tossing another floorboard at Tony. "We'll be done in a few, Laura."
She nodded, leaving the room with a smile as they joked. She also couldn't be happier that they finally made progress on the room that had been left unfinished for months on end.
After the two teammates nailed the last floorboard down minutes later, they went to meet the rest of the family for dinner.
"Are you sure I can't multitask while I eat?" Tony asked as he stood up, dusting off his jeans and t-shirt. "I will gladly take the food in here and add some finishing Stark touches to this room while I eat."
"Sorry, but this isn't you lab, Tony." Clint simply said as he gave his friend a pat on the back. Partly to reassure the billionaire his family didn't bite. "You'll have to multitask by eating and socializing at the dinner table instead."
Tony just rolled his eyes at his friend while they walked into the kitchen to wash their hands, sweat stained shirts and all.
"You two need to take showers after dinner," Laura commented as she put the last of the dishes on the kitchen table and called the kids in, who were running around outside.
"Noted," Clint replied as he dried his hands on a towel, Tony following soon after.
As the five of them sat down, Nathaniel having been feed earlier and was currently napping, the mashed potatoes and chicken taunted them as they waited to eat. They had to say grace before they could begin the meal.
Tony couldn't help but be a little confused by the action of everyone holding each other's hands around the table. But quickly realizing that this must have been a form of family tradition, he joined in to be respectful. Even if he felt rather uncomfortable holding the hand of Clint and his daughter, Lila. He also couldn't help but notice how small the hand of the child's was in his own.
It didn't take long before grace ended and they started dispersing the food. After they did, they made some casual conversation and Tony took that time to ask about the grace that had happened minutes ago.
"I never took you as a religious guy, Clint." Tony asked as he ate a piece of chicken.
Clint shrugged. "Well, I'm not. Not really." There was a pause as he looked around the dinner table at his family. "But I've found it helpful to have a little extra faith. With my job... Sometimes we need it."
Laura nodded in agreement with her husband. "It's a comfort for when times get rough. A little extra faith can go a long way."
"I guess that makes sense," Tony said over eating some green beans. "I've never been a religious guy either. I just find it hard to believe in anything with what we see in our day job. Aliens, gods, magic…. Some pretty mind blowing crap happens that I don't think any one religion can explain."
"Watch your language at the table," Laura raised an eyebrow and pointed an accusing fork at him. Tony replied by putting his hands up slightly in defense with a nod. But he couldn't help but laugh in his mind as he noticed she sounded a lot like Cap when she scolded them about swearing.
"Good job on the sunroom guys," Laura changed the subject after a bite of food. "It's looking great. Thanks Tony for helping Clint with it. It would have taken him much longer to finish the job without you."
"No problem Mrs. Barton." Tony replied honestly.
"No 'Mrs. Barton' stuff, it's Laura." She gave a warm smile to Tony. She never liked being so formal, especially with people they considered friends.
"Laura," He nodded. "Actually, I was talking with Clint while working. I could come by again and help you guys knock out the east wall of the dining room to give this house more space…"
"Oh no," Laura sighed. "No. No more projects. You promised fixing the sunroom would be the last renovation, Clint." She directed the annoyance towards her husband.
"Yeah, I know. But I was thinking that if you knock out that wall, expand the house a little, we could make a new office for you. Since Nathaniel stole your old office, I figured that could be the perfect space. You would get your own room for peace and quiet, you'll be able to see the kids when they're outside, and plus, we never use the dining room anyways. Having that room unused is just a waste." Clint tried to convince his wife through his many reasons why it would be a good idea.
Laura put her fork down so she could rub her face with a sigh. "I don't know…." She replied, actually considering the idea. It would be nice to have her own office space again...
"With my help, we can put up the extended wall in less than two days." Tony stated, not really to take sides but instead simply say he'd be willing to help if they decide to go through with it.
There was silence as she continued thinking about the proposal. "I know that rebuilding parts of the house is a hobby for you Clint, but will it ever stop? We can't just keep tearing down parts of the house."
"Just think about it," Clint simply said to not force the idea. He ended up putting his hand on his wife's knee to reinforce that he wasn't putting her on the spot. "I promise not to tear anything down without your approval."
"And if you ever need me, you know where to find me," Tony nodded.
As Laura shook her head again, they all continued to eat. Cooper decided it was his turn to ask a question as he wanted to join the conversation with the billionaire. Between mouthfuls from across the table, he asked, "So are you like, the richest guy in the world?"
"I like to think so," Tony smiled brightly. "I am a genius, billionaire…..philanthropist." He paused between his famous title as he decided it was probably best to not mention the 'playboy' part in front of the kids. Laura would likely scold him again.
Lila looked up at the older man next to her, confused. "What's a philanthropist?"
Tony was about to answer but stopped to think about it for a moment. He never been asked that question before because everyone he'd talked to knew what it was. Then again, he rarely ever talked to kids. He shrugged. "I basically donate a lot of money to help people."
"Oh, that's nice!" Lila grinned. "Do you help animals too?" She loved animals, and the deer family moving in had only intensified her love and desire to help them in any way she could. She recently even tried to convince Laura she wanted to be a vegetarian, but Laura had to make her a deal that if she wanted to go through with it, she'd have to start a few years from now when she's older and could understand proper nutritional research. Right now, she needed to make sure her daughter was growing healthily and getting proper nutrition the only way she knew how.
But this did explain why Lila had barely touched the chicken in her meal.
"On occasion we help animals," Tony replied while eating a spoonful of mashed potatoes. "A few years ago, Pepper and I implemented a way to power New York City with clean energy. We wanted to help give back to the environment, and since it was a success we're currently trying to spread it to other cities. Helping the world, nature and humans, is a big focus for Stark Industries right now."
Tony looked back up at the family. They were all silent for a moment as Tony seemed to forget he was talking to kids and not businessmen. He sat there for an awkward moment, slowly chewing his food. But Lila quickly piped in, fascinated. "That's awesome! You're cool!"
"Why thank you," Tony said, his ego starting to skyrocket but he couldn't help but be flattered by the excited child. "You kids aren't too bad yourselves."
The Lila and Cooper smiled at each other, glad that the famous man liked them. For the rest of dinner, they continued to ask Tony questions about the tower, what it was like to be rich, and more. And as the meal came to a close, Tony had slowly warmed up to the Barton children.
When Tony and Clint were standing by the front door, ready to see each other off as the evening ended, Tony said, "I suppose it's time for me to head out."
"You're welcome to stay longer, Tony." Clint threw the offer out there, even though he knew what the answer would be.
Tony picked up his tool bag by the door. "I can't avoid Pepper forever. She'll have my head if I stay longer."
"Well, you're welcome to stop by any time you're in the neighborhood. Just let us know. The kids would love to see you again I'm sure." Clint smiled at his teammate.
"Thanks," He replied, "But I don't think I'll be in the middle of nowhere anytime soon. Tell Laura thanks for the meal, she can really cook. Unlike you."
"Haha," Clint said sarcastically as Tony opened the door to leave. But he knew his friend was right, Clint was a lousy cook. "You can gladly make dinner next time the team has a movie night, I would gladly give up that chore."
"Yeah, no. I'm good," Tony smirked as the two walked onto the porch. "But I'll see ya whenever, Legolas." Tony said as he walked over to his car while Clint leaned against the porch railing instead of following.
"See ya, Man of Steel." He said from his comfortable position.
Tony gave a small solute as he put on his shades. When he started driving down the driveway, Clint heard him shout. "It's Iron Man!"
Clint gave a chuckle as he continued to lean against the railing, looking out at the summer sunset as it started disappearing behind the trees in the distant forest.
He couldn't help but smile as he could properly hear the birds chirping for the first time in a few long days.
Don't forget I'm always open to one-shot ideas! If you have a cute/hurt/comfort mini story you want me to write, let me know and I'll see what I can do!:) I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! Thanks to all who follow, favorite, and comment!:)