Just another reminder that this fic does carry trigger warnings for child abuse, childhood injuries, etc etc. But I;m sure you've noticed that by now... ~ F
Tony climbed into bed later that night (well, morning; it was gone 4am) after going over the data with Bruce in the lab, desperately trying to find a cure. They were painfully aware that this problem had a ticking clock; if they didn't act fast enough Clint and Natasha would be de-aged out of existence.
He scooted in closer to Pepper, who turned in his arms. He was surprised to find her awake at this hour
"I don't think I can do it Tony" she admitted in a whisper, she looked like she'd been crying
"Do what Pepper?" he asked, suddenly concerned
"Watch them, watch them go through all that again; they had horrific childhoods, and I don't think I can sit here while they're hurt and beaten and in pain and just do nothing"
"You're not doing nothing Pepper, you're here to help them, and comfort them. They're not alone this time Pepper, and it's important they know that"
"They're just so small..." a tear rolled down Pepper's cheek, and Tony realised just how hard this must be on her. She'd cared for them in a similar situation before, but the circumstances were very different. Last time they'd been de-aged they'd arrived injured, but they had healed and were just like normal children; they had ice creams and went to the beach... But now they were continuously getting younger, with all the knowledge of what was happening to them and what was to come; they were scared and there was little comfort Tony, Pepper or Steve could give against the inevitable. They knew at some point Clint would get a broken arm from when his father had too much to drink and pushed him down the stairs, they knew Natasha would suddenly appear with a stab wound because she'd been too scared to make her first kill and her mentor had turned the weapon against her... The only thing they could do to try and prevent it was re-age them before it happened, but it wouldn't erase the fact it had already happened...
"You can do this Pepper, if anyone can do this it's you" he whispered into hair, kissing her temple. Pepper sighed, doubting Tony's words; she'd already learnt more than she ever wanted to know about Natasha's horrific childhood the last time this had happened, but it appeared she didn't even know the half of it...
It was a long while before the two of them managed to fall asleep
Over the next few days things were relatively normal, Bruce moved back into the tower and he and Tony spend hours a day working in the labs to try and cure their friends. Natasha's broken ribs healed and Clint's bruises disappeared and for a while, everything was simple.
Then one night Tony and Pepper were woken by a frantic knowing on their door, they opened it to find a worried looking Clint stood there, too shocked to even speak. The two adults tore down the hallway to find Natasha gasping for breath; she was covered in blood and hysterical and Tony didn't have a clue what to do
"Jarvis, wake Bruce and tell him to meet me in the medical wing!"
"Right away sir"
He lifted Natasha from her bed, her small body going limp in his arms as she lost consciousness, and he ran, he was actually panicking, and that didn't happen often
His glance caught with Pepper's for a moment when he exited the bedroom, she was knelt on the floor with Clint in her arms and her gaze said it all; she was scared too
Boarding the elevator, Tony ran almost instantly into Steve, who's face dropped instantly. He swiftly moved out of the way, and Clint threw himself at him instead; his small hands covered in Natasha's blood as he'd tried to stop the bleeding. Pepper joined Tony in the elevator and they rode it down to Bruce's lab in silence.
"Tony, what's the-"
On seeing Natasha Bruce switched into doctor mode, grabbing an oxygen mask and gauze, blood for a transfusion and a copious amount of bandages
He set about stopping the bleeding; the worst of which was coming from a deep stab wound in her abdomen
Tony and Pepper watched on from the corner of them room, unable to do anything in order to help
She finally stabilised; her blood pressure crept back up, pulse rate dropped back to normal and her O2 stats improved, only then did the three adults breathe a sigh of relief. They told Jarvis to inform Steve, and not a minute later Clint was running through Bruce's lab to the small medical bay that Tony had built in a few years ago
"Tasha?" he asked gently, holding her hand in his, but it was no use; she was still unconscious
"She'll be okay Clint" Bruce reassured him, taking another look at the readings on the monitor by her bed
"You promise?"
Bruce looked up to Tony and Pepper, glancing as Steve entered before looking back to Clint, knowing he couldn't make that promise;
"For now, she'll be awake soon" was the best comfort he could offer
He was right; Natasha woke a few hour later with Clint curled up at the foot of her bed.
And just like the adult Natasha, she insisted on leaving right away.
Bruce finally relented when she managed to convince Clint to unplug all the monitors and help her back to the elevator where they ran into Steve. Steve carried Natasha the rest of the way, and the two kids spend the day on the sofa watching films. Natasha dosed on and off, but she didn't seem too worse for the ware considering she'd just almost died.
"What on earth did they do to her?" Pepper asked quietly, watching the two children from across the room as she drank her coffee; it had been a sleepless night
"God only knows"
"And we always wondered why she hated talking about her past..."
"You know, I don't think this could have happened to a worse two..."
The other three nodded their agreement with Steve's comment. They heard two voices laughing from the lounge are as Clint and Natasha watched Despicable Me, and the four adults couldn't help but smile, they went and joined them and the six of them fell asleep in the lounge.