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Challenges Listed at the Bottom

Word Count: 1325

Story Notes: Tony gets de-aged, and Clint looks after him.

Soft

"You're the leader!" Clint pointed out, irritated but trying to keep his temper. The little boy resting on his hip was gnawing on his bottom lip, and Clint really didn't want to upset him.

Not least because the little boy was Tony.

Steve raised his hands, a completely clueless look on his face. "On the field I'm the leader, but I don't know the first thing about kids, Clint. When I picked him up, he cried at me! You're the only one he's settled with since he turned into… into… that."

"You can say 'child', Cap, it's not a swear," Natasha said, rolling her eyes as she strolled over to where Clint stood and held her arms out for Tony.

The little boy—three years old, by JARVIS estimations—tightened his hand on Clint's t-shirt for a moment before he stretched out his arms for Nat to take him. She did so, smiling at him when he prodded at her red and black jacket, tracing the patches of colour with tiny hands.

"See," she said, arching her brow at Steve, even as she smirked. "Piece of cake."

Steve sighed. "I'm just… not good with kids."

"It's not just any kid though," Clint pointed out. "He's Tony. Our Tony."

"He's certainly quieter this way," Fury said, walking through the door. "Thankfully, Banner is working with Reed, and they're estimating we'll have our pain in the ass genius back to his usual self within a couple of days."

"What are we meant to do with him until then?" Steve asked, looking a touch panicked.

"Feed him chocolate and try not to drop him," Fury suggested with a small smile before he left the room.

A few seconds later, they all turned to look at the door when they heard an echo of laughter down the corridor.

…

Clint arrived back at the Tower a little behind the team, having gone to do a little shopping for baby Tony while Nat settled him in. They'd decided there was no point bothering with a cot or a pram, given he'd be back to normal in the space of a few days, but he'd need clothes and some toys and…

Well. Clint had had fun shopping.

He took the elevator up to the top floors and spilled out to find Steve hiding in the kitchen while Nat played with Tony on the floor of the sitting room. His giggles were excellent in Clint's opinion and he chuckled as he walked over with his bags and dropped to his knees to join them on the floor.

"That looks like a lot more than he needs for a couple of days, Clint," Nat said, nodding to the bags beside him.

Clint smiled sheepishly. "I, uh. Kept seeing things I thought he'd love, so…"

She shook her head. "Do you have clothes for him?"

Clint nodded. "It's getting late. A onesie, you think?"

When she nodded, he dug through the bag with the clothes in, and pulled out an Iron Man onesie that made her laugh.

"Of course you got him that one."

Following that, Clint also pulled out a vest, this one with Thor's hammer stamped on the front, and then a packet of pull ups.

"We should probably feed him as well," Nat pointed out. "He's three, so as long as it's nothing too elaborate, I think he'll be okay to eat normal food now, right?"

"Should be. Maybe just do him some jam on toast though? We know he likes that, he steals it off my plate every morning."

She snorted but nodded, pushing herself to her feet. "You okay to get him changed while I make it?"

Clint waved her off, holding his arms out for Tony, who toddled over to him, his fingers in his mouth.

"You're adorable," Clint murmured, tugging Tony's t-shirt off. "You're going to make me all soft until we can get you turned back, aren't you?"

"Soft," Tony agreed, around his fingers.

"Yeah," Clint said, as he carefully guided Tony to lie down so he could take his trousers off. "But don't tell anybody."

"Soft," Tony said again, solemnly this time, like he knew exactly what Clint was talking about.

…

After toast with jam—and a bag of chocolate buttons which probably weren't advisable for a baby at night—Clint settled on the sofa with Tony in his lap. Tony had a blanket draped over his legs, but JARVIS kept the tower at a nice temperature, so it was there more for comfort than warmth. Tucked under one of his chubby arms, a stuffed dinosaur peeked its head out. Tony's hand was buried in the fluff, and every now and then, he'd press his face against the soft toy.

Natasha took the seat beside Clint, and Steve eventually joined them from the kitchen, though he did sit in the armchair furthest away. It was just the four of them, with Thor off planet, and Bruce in a lab with Reed, trying to fix what had happened to Tony.

"What's Tony's favourite Disney movie?" Clint asked, frowning slightly as he realised he couldn't remember.

"I don't think we need to worry about that," Nat pointed out with a soft smile, nodding her head to Tony, who was drifting off on Clint's lap, face against his chest.

"Where's he going to sleep?" Steve asked, face a little dimmed by the shadows in the room.

"I'll sleep with him in his room," Clint said. "He's got the biggest bed I think, and I can surround him with pillows in there so he doesn't roll off in the night."

Steve nodded. "You're really good with him."

"I like kids," Clint said, smiling down at Tony. "Besides, I spend a lot of time with him in general, so I guess I already know what he likes."

Steve blushed slightly. The whole team knew that of all of them, Steve and Tony were the most likely to clash, and had the weakest friendship, though they did work spectacularly well together in the field. It was a bit of a strange conundrum, but Clint put it down to Steve being a man of the past, and Tony being a force of the future. They were bound to clash, really.

It didn't massively impact them, though Clint knew Tony wished he could find a way to connect with Steve, if only for the sake of the team.

"Shall we watch something child friendly anyway?" Nat suggested, wrinkling her nose slightly. "Just in case he wakes up? The last thing we need is a three year old having nightmares because he woke up in the middle of a horror movie."

Clint nodded, shifting just slightly so he was cradling Tony a little more securely.

While it would be for the best if Bruce and Reed got the problem fixed as soon as possible, he couldn't help but enjoy having a child around.

…

It took less time than expected to find the fix for Tony's situation, and it was the next afternoon when Clint was carrying him back through the corridors of the SHIELD Helicarrier to the workshop Bruce and Reed had taken over.

The job was done in a matter of minutes.

"Oh, thank fuck," Tony said, as he opened his eyes to find himself his normal size. "Richards, if you ever do that to me again, I'm going to find a way to open the Multiverse and push you through it."

Reed blushed and looked away, muttering an apology, while Tony pressed a resounding kiss to Bruce's cheek.

"Love you, Brucie."

Bruce snorted. "Love you too, you menace. I'm going to bed now."

Tony just nodded, and then looked over at Clint.

"Soft," he murmured, and smiled, and Clint could only chuckle. It had been nice having a baby around, but really, he was glad to have Tony back to his usual self.

If only because Adult Tony didn't need his pull ups changing.

Written for:

Book Club: Owen: Smirking / Black / Shadow

Showtime: 13. Chocolate

Film Festival: 19. "Yeah, but don't tell anybody."

Angel's Archive: 13. Red-Black

Entitled: 4. Leader

Auction: Day 8, Auction 4: Deaging

365: 71. Soft toy/stuffed animal