A/N: More mentions of child neglect. But again, twice as much fluff. I'm not good at angst, so it's all resolved quite quickly :) Also, our favorite agent!
That day, Tony gave Allie an IQ test. "You just have to answer the questions and follow the instructions, okay kiddo?"
"Okay." She looked at the colored blocks and the kiddie-colored tablet. "Is it a game?"
"Yep, it's a game," he said. "You just play it and I'll watch you, okay?"
She sat in the middle of the living room and JARVIS began to coach her through the test.
"What are you doing to my child?" Clint asked, making Tony flinch.
"Dude, what did we say about sneaking up on people?" Tony demanded, putting his coffee cup down.
"What are you doing?" Clint repeated.
"Giving her an IQ test."
"She's FOUR, Stark."
"So? At four I was building computers. She's a little baby shapeshifter, we have to see if she's got any other special talents. Plus, we're homeschooling her, so we have to know what kind of curriculum to build."
"We're not homeschooling her," Clint said, outraged. "She needs to go to a normal public school!"
"She's the baby Avenger, she's not going to exist for six hours every day in public with no protection! Of course we're homeschooling her!"
Allie stopped playing and looked over at the two adults, eyes wide.
Natasha appeared from the other side of the living room and knelt beside Allie. "Hey, Allie, how's your game going?"
Allie, distracted, turned to look at Natasha and showed her the tower she was building with the colored blocks.
Natasha gave the two men a deadly glare and mouthed, "STOP. FIGHTING."
Clint and Tony shared an ashamed glance. "How about homeschool with occasional playdates?" Tony asked.
"Sounds good." Clint sat next to him on the couch with a beer. "How long is it going to take her?"
"Well once Natasha gets out of the way," Tony glared at her meaningfully, "Allie should be done in half an hour."
It turned out Allie was a very intelligent four-year-old. Tony gave her a brand new toy as a prize for finishing the "game", and she went off to play with the plush Captain America figure with Natasha.
"If we nurture this beautiful baby brain, she could be a genius," Tony said happily, looking at the scans. "JARVIS, let's get started on some educational games."
"Not too many," Steve cautioned. "We're limiting her exposure to tech to two hours a day."
"But-" Tony started.
"No," Steve said. "She's just a child, and long exposure to screens and technology is bad for any developing brain."
"Since when do you know anything about kids?" Tony asked.
Steve held up his own tablet. "I do know how to use the internet, Tony. I've read a lot of articles about child development since yesterday."
"Send me some of those?" Clint asked.
"Yeah, sure."
The elevator doors slid open, and a familiar black suited figure appeared. Thing was, he was supposed to be dead.
Clint turned white as a sheet. "Coulson?" he whispered.
"Hi." He gave them all a sheepish grin and a wave.
Natasha stared at him in shock, and carefully moved to swing Allie onto her hip. "C'mon baby," she murmured, "let's go upstairs to your room okay?"
"Please stay," Coulson said, making the redhead freeze in her tracks. He walked over to her and smiled at Allie. "Hi, little one."
She stared at him, wide-eyed, and curled into Natasha's side. "Who are you?" she asked quietly, wrapping an arm around the red-head's neck.
"My name is Phil," Coulson said. "I used to work with Natasha and Clint."
"You a superhero?" she asked quietly.
Coulson shook his head. "Just an agent."
"Actually," Steve said, coming forward, "Phil here is a superhero. He helped save the world from the bad guys."
Her eyes went wide. "Weally?"
"Really really," Steve confirmed.
Clint spoke up, his tone masking the hurt in his voice. "Last time we saw him though; he was really sick. Really, really sick. How did you get better, Phil?"
"Yeah, Agent?" Tony added.
Coulson looked guilty. "I really did die for a few minutes. I didn't know I'd survived till I woke up two months later."
"Why weren't we told?"
Coulson shook his head. "Fury didn't want to mess up what you had." He gestured around the tower. "Just look at you all. Living in the same tower, haven't killed each other yet, working together to save the world, and you're even thinking of adopting a child."
"How did you even-"
"I talked to Pepper," Coulson said, giving them a sheepish grin. "I couldn't have gotten in the tower otherwise."
Tony's eyes narrowed. "If you left her in tears, Coulson, I swear-"
"No, no, I promise. There was a little bit of tears but I apologized so..." He took a deep breath. "Anyways. The reason I'm here is, to apologize to all of you, and-"
"No," Clint said, standing up.
Coulson's impassive face crumpled and he almost looked like he was going to cry.
Clint suddenly grabbed him in a hug. "You have nothing to apologize for," he said fiercely, his words muffled in the older man's shoulder. "Nothing, you hear me?"
Coulson nodded silently, eyes closed in relief.
Natasha pressed her lips together tightly and looked away, trying to keep it together.
Allie suddenly showed her genius and wriggled. "Down," she requested.
Natasha put her down.
Allie gave her an insistent look. "Hugs make everytin' better," she whispered.
"Yeah, baby girl," Natasha said, giving her a soft smile, before grabbing Coulson in her own fierce hug. "Don't ever do that again," she ordered.
"Never," Coulson promised.
Tony cleared his throat as Allie climbed into his lap. "Ahem. Not to break up the moment-" that was exactly what he was doing and he knew it; he was allergic to sentiment "-but this little girl is hungry and I'm pretty sure she wants pizza."
"Pizza!" Allie cheered.
The three spies cleared their throats and stepped away from each other.
Steve came over and clapped him gently on the shoulder. "I have those cards, if you want to stop by my room and get them. I signed them."
Coulson's face lit up with fanboyish glee.
"Where are you staying?" Tony asked, picking up Allie. "Don't say SHIELD, because their dormitories are-" He stopped abruptly and glanced at the child in his arms. "Really bad," he said lamely. "There's a guest suite on the spies' floor, we can fix it up in five minutes flat if you want to stay. JARVIS, get the guest suite ready." He gave them a slightly manic grin. "Cool." He ruffled Allie's hair. "C'mon Allie, you can pick your pizza." He left the living room.
Steve grinned. "That means you're staying for dinner, by the way."
Coulson nodded. "I guessed that."
Clint slung an arm around his former handler's shoulders, and then froze. "Are you fully healed?" he asked, inspecting his chest. "Should you even be up? Do you need to sit down?"
Coulson gave him a tired grin. "I'm okay for another couple of hours. Fury has me on light duty for another two months."
"That just means you're going to be our handler for the foreseeable future," Natasha surmised. Now that the emotions had cleared, she realized why Coulson was actually here.
"Awesome," Clint said.
Thor and Bruce came in from the elevator, talking about Star Wars. Bruce saw him first, and stopped in mid-phrase. "Uh..."
"The Son of Coul!" Thor said joyfully. "You are not dead!" He grabbed him by the shoulders and hugged him.
"Careful," Clint and Natasha scolded.
Thor gave them a wounded look. "I am careful," he protested. "I have kept my full strength at bay since Allie entered the tower."
"Yep, you're fine," Coulson assured him.
Bruce offered him a smile. "Nice to see you again."
"Glad to be here," Coulson replied.
"PIZZA'S READY!" Steve hollered from the kitchen.
They all went into the kitchen, and Steve distributed the ten pizzas. Allie got her own child-sized pizza with pepperoni and pineapples, and she ate exactly half of it before she declared, "Done."
"Are you sure, baby girl?" Clint asked. "You're not hungry at all?"
She shook her head and yawned. "No."
Clint smirked. "All right, I think it's naptime for all little shapeshifters."
"No," Allie said stubbornly.
Clint picked her up and handed her the Captain America plushie. "Just rest your head, sweetheart."
She rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep two seconds later.
Coulson looked impressed. "I thought four-year-olds were more work than that," he said.
Bruce shook his head. "Once her energy levels go up and she's over the bronchitis, she'll be way more energetic. I have a feeling naptime is going to be difficult later."
"That also begs the question, where did you get the child in the first place?" Coulson asked.
Clint coughed awkwardly. "I found her, on the streets."
"And why did you bring her home instead of taking her to the proper authorities?"
At that moment, Allie's unconscious brain shifted her from a girl to a puppy, and she pawed sleepily at the Cap plushie before settling again on Clint's chest.
Coulson raised an eyebrow. "Ah. Never mind." He smiled. "She's cute."
"You should see her as a kitten," Thor said. "She is adorable."
Coulson nodded. "And how is this going to work with your superhero agenda?"
"Not everyone needs to go all the time," Steve said. "And now that you're back you can take care of her if we're all out."
"Oh no. I'm not a babysitter."
"You took care of Clint all these years," Natasha reminded him.
"And Tasha," Clint added gleefully.
Coulson heaved a sigh, but he didn't look very put out. "Fine."
"And puppy therapy is very helpful," Bruce added. "Calms the Hulk right down."
Coulson shot the puppy a contemplative look.
"NO," all six Avengers chorused. "You are not turning her into an asset," Steve added in his 'Captain' voice.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Coulson said dryly.
A~A~A~A
Allie slept for another forty minutes before finally waking up. She yawned and stretched, her little pink puppy tongue sticking out as she yawned, her paws reaching out to the ceiling. She blinked up at Clint and he stroked her ears.
"You awake, sweetie?" he asked gently.
She wagged her tail and yapped happily.
"Hungry?"
She jumped off his lap and went for the toys in the living room. She grabbed the stuffed duck in her mouth and trotted back over to the superheroes, wagging her tail eagerly.
"Oh I see. You wanna play, huh," Steve said, taking the toy gently from her mouth. He tossed it to the other side of the living room and she raced after it.
"So cute," Clint said.
Allie wrestled the duck for a moment and then trotted over to Coulson, placing the stuffed duck on his shoes and looking up at him expectantly.
"I don't play fetch," he informed her.
She gave him the saddest pair of puppy eyes and her little tail drooped sadly.
"Agent, just toss the duck," Tony said firmly.
Coulson sighed, picked up the slightly slobbery duck, and threw it.
Allie chased after it, brought it back, and pawed at Coulson's pant leg. After a moment's hesitation, he picked her up.
She stared at him and leaned forward to gently bop him in the nose with her own cold wet nose.
He cracked a smile. "Hi."
She wagged her tail and curled up in his lap, gnawing on the stuffed duck contently.
"All right," Coulson said, "I can see the appeal."
The Avengers shared a grin.
A~A~A~A
That night Allie was tucked into bed by Clint and Natasha. She stared up at them and asked, "Can I has story?"
"Story?" Natasha asked nervously.
"Story," Allie confirmed, wriggling out of her tucked-in blankets and sitting up. "Like on TV."
The last cartoon she'd watched, the mom had tucked in the child, read them a story and kissed them on the forehead.
Clint sat on the edge of the bed. "All right. What story do you want, kiddo?" He glared at Natasha out of the corner of his eye until the red-head very gingerly sat down as well.
Allie gave them a blank look. "I no know. You know."
"Your mom never-" Clint cut himself off. "Of course not. I'm sorry baby." He leaned forward to give her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Natasha, you know any bedtime stories?"
Natasha's eyes widened. "I'm a spy not a nursemaid," she said lowly, in Russian.
"No fairy tales or anything?" Clint asked.
"You ought to know more than I do," she replied.
Allie wriggled around impatiently. "Princess," she requested.
They shared a glance. "All right," Clint said, hoping nobody was recording this, "once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess."
"Wif red hair," Allie added, giggling.
"With red hair," Clint obliged, sneaking a glance at Natasha. "Her whole life, she lived in a castle far, far away, in a mountain. And the princess was very lonely, because there was no one to play with at the top of the mountain."
"And then one day, a dashing prince came along," Natasha continued.
"Wif purple bow and arrow," Allie supplied, falling onto her pillow in a fit of giggles.
Both spies avoided looking at each other. "With a purple bow and arrows," Natasha allowed, "to rescue her."
Clint picked up the story. "He climbed to the top of the mountain, and tried to get inside the castle. But the princess was scared, because no one had ever tried to help her before, so she tried to make the prince go away."
"Is not nice," Allie murmured.
"No it wasn't," Clint said, grinning slyly at Natasha. She punched him lightly in the arm and his grin widened.
"But the princess saw something nice in the prince's eyes," Natasha murmured, reaching over to smooth a hand over Allie's hair. "So she let him in the castle. And he showed her there were other people that could help her not be alone, and the prince and the princess went down the mountain."
"And Co-son," Allie added sleepily, nestling under the blankets. There were no flies on this little girl, thank you very much.
"And there was a very wise king named Coulson," Clint continued, slightly chagrined that a four-year-old had seen through their 'fairy tale', "who adopted them both, and sent the prince and the princess to save people all over the world. It was very dangerous, but they had a very good time. And eventually, the prince and the princess found a family who helped them save the whole world." He smiled down at the drowsy girl.
"And dey live happy ever'n'ever," Allie slurred, closing her eyes.
Clint met Natasha's eyes and smiled slightly. "Yeah. And they lived happily ever after."
"The end," Natasha finished quietly.
A quiet sigh from Allie broke through their bubble, and they both turned to look at the snoozing girl. Clint kissed her on the forehead and drew the covers up to her chin. "Good night, sleep tight," he said quietly, remembering the few times Barney had tucked him in like that. He stood up carefully.
Natasha edged over and kissed Allie's forehead. "Sleep well, malyshka," she whispered.
They left the room, and found Coulson leaning on the wall next to the door. He gave them a small smile. "So I'm a king, huh?"
"Definitely," Clint said, grinning. "King of spies."
"Well then what's Fury?"
Natasha scoffed. "He's the captain of the pirate spies, obviously."
A~A~A~A
A few days passed. Allie's thin face rounded out, and when the Avengers cuddled her, they could no longer feel such a sharp outline to her ribs. She gained more energy but still took two naps a day, and halfway through the night she would climb into someone's bed and curl up on their chest as a kitten or a puppy.
"I think it's the sound of our heartbeats," Bruce theorized, watching Allie nap curled up next to Tony's robots in the lab.
Dummy, Butterfingers, and You were in awe over the small shapeshifting child, and as she was currently in human form, her thin arms wound around Dummy's main body, the robot was standing stock still, his claw hesitantly resting on her back. Butterfingers and You stood guard over them, whirring and chirping quietly.
Tony nodded. "Yeah. You should've seen Pepper's face when we woke up yesterday morning and Allie was sleeping on my arc reactor. There's like, two hundred pictures now."
"Only 12, sir," JARVIS corrected.
Bruce eyed Tony cautiously. "It didn't bother you?"
"She was purring," Tony explained. "It was very soothing."
"I see." Bruce checked the clock. It was time for lunch. Now that there was a child on the premises that everyone took turns being responsible for, everyone was eating much more regularly. Bruce, needing routine and structure himself, couldn't argue with that. He crossed over to the puppy pile of robots and child, and carefully lifted Allie off the blanket on the floor. "Lunch time, sweetheart."
She buried her face in his lab coat and wrapped her arms around his neck with a sigh.
Bruce shifted her to his hip and let her sleep while he saved his work and set up the next run of experiments. "Tony, you coming?"
"In a bit," Tony said distractedly. "There's a fault in the power line somewhere... Dummy, find me the wrench kit."
Dummy looked plaintively at the sleeping child.
"She's with Bruce now, you can stand down," Tony told him. "Wrench kit."
Dummy whirred off and Bruce went upstairs.
He placed her on the couch to finish her nap and made some simple ham and cheese sandwiches.
Suddenly there was a loud THUMP from the living room, and two seconds later a startled wail.
Bruce dropped the mayo knife on the counter and rushed into the living room.
Allie was on the floor, having rolled off the couch in her sleep. She was holding her arm and crying, half in pain and half in fright. "Bwooose," she sobbed pitifully. "Ow."
"I'm so sorry baby, where does it hurt?" he asked, sitting on the ground and pulling her into his lap to examine her arm. She winced when he prodded gently at a spot near her shoulder. "Ouch, huh, I'm sorry Allie."
She sniffled. "I felled."
"I know, sweetheart, I know, I'm sorry." He kissed the bruise gently. "Is that better?"
She nodded. "I'm hungwy, Bwuce."
He picked her up, careful not to touch her arm. "All right, c'mon, let's go have lunch and you'll feel better, okay?"
She nodded. "And then we'll have ice cream?"
"After you eat your sandwich."
"Kay."
Clint came rushing into the living room. "I heard crying," he said, looking at them worriedly.
"She's okay," Bruce assured her. He hung his head guiltily. "It was my fault, though. I left her on the couch and she rolled over in her sleep and fell."
Clint patted him on the arm. "It was an accident Bruce, it's fine."
"But she was my responsibility-"
Clint stopped him. "Bruce. Don't beat yourself up about it. Kids fall off the bed. It's okay."
"It's okay," Allie assured the scientist, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Is all good."
Bruce smiled down at the girl and kissed her hair. "All right, Allie, it's all good. Who wants a sandwich?"
"Me!"
A~A~A~A
Allie was comfortable with the Avengers, Pepper, and Coulson. Anyone else, she regarded with deep suspicion. When Maria came by the tower to drop some papers off for Coulson and gave the little girl an odd look, Allie ran away, turned into a cat, and hid under the sofa until JARVIS assured her that the stranger was completely gone from the tower. She stayed in cat form, jumping at the slightest noise, until Clint distracted her with ice cream and a cookie.
A~A~A~A
It was a couple days afterwards that the police finally called the case of parental neglect, and requested that the Avengers bring the girl and the initial evidence to the station, after which the mother would be questioned.
At first all of them wanted to go, but Thor and Bruce decided to stay behind for obvious reason. Tony and Pepper had to go, since one was the registered homeowner and one was the fund manager. Steve agreed to go to keep an eye on Tony, and Natasha insisted on going to conduct the interro- ahem, questioning of the mother. That made Clint the designated babysitter.
Allie was still asleep, curled up in the very center of her flowery pillow, her little puppy chest moving up and down in peaceful sleep. Her paw twitched faintly.
Clint reached out to pet her head gently. "Allie, it's time to wake up."
She whined and buried her head in the pillow, still asleep.
He picked her up and cradled her like a baby. "Wakey wakey," he said teasingly, tickling her belly.
She squirmed and woke up, licking his fingers as he tickled her and batting her paws into his chest.
He kissed her head and placed her back on the bed. "C'mon baby girl, we gotta go places today. Can you get dressed?"
She shapeshifted back into a girl, and tugged at her Hulk pajamas. "Where we going?" she asked.
Clint handed her a pair of jeans and a purple blouse. "What shoes do you want?" he asked.
"Mm, boots."
He placed her little cowboy boots on the floor. "I'll be in the living room okay?"
"Okay."
She met him in the living room, dressed, with her shoes on the wrong feet. He sat her on the couch and fixed her shoes.
"Breakfast," Steve called.
They had pancakes, and then Allie asked again, "Where we goin'?"
Everyone shared a glance. "We're going down to the police station to talk to them about your mother," Steve said gently.
Her eyes went huge in her face and her chin wobbled. "You gonna take me back?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears.
"No, sweetheart, no," Steve said, reaching for her.
She shied away from him and pressed her back against the wall. "No," she said, "I be good. No mommy."
"Baby, no one's going to take you back," Clint said gently. "We're never, ever, going to take you back to that woman. I promise."
She looked at their faces, scrutinizing their expressions. She scrubbed at her eyes with her little fist. "Promise?"
"Promise," Clint said again. "The only reason we're going today is to tell them that she was a bad mommy, and that we love you and want to keep you where you'll be safe." He reached out and hugged her gently.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "Good."
Steve reached out to smooth her hair. "Listen, sweetie, they're going to ask you some questions about your old life with your mommy. You just have to tell them the truth, okay? And one of us is going to be with you the whole time."
"And then we'll go to the park!" Clint added.
She nodded. "And then ice cream?"
"And then ice cream."
A~A~A~A
The social services worker was a nice lady who had three kids of her own and sat down with Allie on the floor. "That's a nice stuffed animal," Mrs. Riker said, pointing to the red and blue bear.
"This is Bucky Bear," Allie informed her. It was Coulson's contribution to her toy collection. "He's a collec-ibble edition."
"Bucky bear, huh," Mrs. Riker said, giving her a soft smile. "Did you have many toys at your old house?"
Allie shook her head and buried her nose in Bucky bear's fur. "No toys."
Mrs. Riker made a note. "Those are nice boots, too."
"Yeah. I like dese boots. They's got stars."
"What kind of shoes did you wear when you were with your mom?"
"No shoes."
"You didn't have any shoes."
"Nope."
"What did you wear?" Mrs. Riker asked, frowning sympathetically.
"Um, blue dress from my friend Sammy's mommy who gave it to me, and a jammy shirt that my mommy didn't use anymore so I took it. But shh, don't tell her." Allie adjusted the bear's jacket.
Mrs. Riker inspected the picture JARVIS took of her from the first day. Yep. Blue dress, very worn and dirty. "Why don't you want me to tell her?" she continued.
Allie frowned. "She get mad."
"What does she do when she's mad?"
Allie scowled. "She yells. And throws stuff."
"What do you do when she does that?"
"I run 'way and stay outside till she forgets she mad and den she ignores me 'gain," Allie replied.
"I see," Mrs. Riker said, trying to keep her expression neutral. "What did you have for breakfast this morning, Allie?"
"Pancakes and egg," Allie said. "I like Bwuce's pancakes. He makes 'em with bananers."
"Yeah?" Mrs. Riker encouraged, smiling. "And what did you have for dinner yesterday?"
"Soup and fishie crackers. And apple."
"Yum. What did you to eat when you were with your mom?"
Allie scowled again. "Cereal and milk."
"All the time? Nothing else?"
"Peanut butter. And, lef-overs."
"So she never made you meals?"
"No. Mommy didn't like me."
"Why not?"
Allie looked at the Avengers uncertainly.
"Mrs. Riker understands about special powers, baby, it's okay," Pepper assured her.
Allie hugged her Bucky bear. "Mommy didn't like me 'cuz I can change into different things."
"Can you show me, honey?"
Allie promptly turned into a kitten and raced over to bat at Tony's shoelaces. He picked her up and kissed her head. "A beautiful little mutant," Tony said, putting the kitten down. "You can change back now, doll."
Kitten turned into child, and Allie sat down in front of Mrs. Riker again. "See?" she asked.
"Yes I saw. That's amazing."
Allie blushed. "Tank you."
Mrs. Riker smiled at her for a moment before sobering. "Your mommy didn't like it when you did that?"
"No. She thinks I'm a, fweak."
"But you're not," Clint interjected, kneeling down to give her a hug. "You're very special and perfect just the way you are."
Mrs. Riker cleared her throat. "So, Allie, do you like living with the Avengers?"
"Yes," Allie said firmly, one arm around Clint's neck. "Dey play with me and make me breakfast and tucks me in at night, and tells me stories, and when I gets scared dey gives me hugs."
"That sounds very nice," Mrs. Riker said, smiling at her.
"Yeah." She turned to Clint and asked in a stage-whisper, "Are we done now? Can we go to the park and have ice cream?"
Clint raised an eyebrow at Mrs. Riker.
"I'm done talking to Allie," Mrs. Riker confirmed.
"Say thank you to Mrs. Riker, sweet pea," Clint prompted.
Allie smiled shyly at Mrs. Riker. "Tank you."
"Thank you," Mrs. Riker said. "I hope you have a good time at the park."
Allie nodded.
Clint lifted her up onto his hip. "Okay baby, let's go. See you guys at the tower."
Mrs. Riker turned to the other four Avengers. "So, what provisions have you made to care for a child?" she asked.
Pepper stepped forward with a tablet and a list.
A~A~A~A
Clint and Allie walked to the nearest park. Allie walked for a bit and then complained, "I'm tiiiiiiiiiiired..." and held up her arms to be carried.
He picked her up and hoisted her on his shoulders. "How do you like the view?" he asked, holding her ankles securely.
She giggled. "I'm tall now, like Thor."
"Just like Thor," Clint agreed.
She played with his hair as they walked, and spiked it up with her fingers. "You's a real hawk now," she declared, setting Bucky Bear on his head. "You're a nest."
"Bears don't have nests," Clint told her.
"This one does."
"Oh really?"
"Yep. he flies and everythin'."
"Awesome."
They got to the park and he placed her on the ground. "Okay, go play."
She looked at the different contraptions and looked back at him uncertainly. "How?"
He waved at the playground. "You know..." His heart broke a little bit. "You ain't ever been to a park, sweetheart?"
She shook her head. "We didn't have one near my old house."
"Oh." He picked her up and hugged her tightly. Even he'd been able to play at the park with his older brother. "All right baby, let's go play," he said.
He taught her how to play on the see-saw, how to make herself go higher on the swings, and held her up while she practiced on the monkey bars. She really liked the swings, and they sat there for a while, just swinging back and forth and making the metal screech.
Then a group of kids came with their moms. Allie stopped swinging and Clint stopped as well. "Home?" she asked quietly, going over to hide behind him.
"You don't want to play with the other kids, Allie?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"Why not?"
She shook her head again.
He knelt down to her eye-level. "Are you shy, sweetheart?"
"What's shy?" she asked.
"You're scared to go over and talk to them?"
"Yeah."
"You didn't have any friends your age at your old house?"
She shook her head. "Just one girl. She was big and didn't play wif me but she gaves me stuff."
"Well these kids are just your age, I think," Clint said, watching the three girls and the two boys play. They looked nice, and the small herd of moms looked nice, too. "How about we try it? I'll go with you, and then maybe you can play with the girls, okay?"
"Okay," she said quietly.
He stood up and held her hand, gently guiding her over to the two girls, twins, who were letting their mom braid their hair so it wouldn't get messy.
"Stand still," the mom admonished. She smiled up at Clint as they approached. "Hello."
"Hi," Clint said, giving her his best 'Iowa country boy' smile. "My little girl wanted to play, but she's really shy."
"Aw, que bonita," the mom said, smiling at Allie. "These are my twins, Kimberley and Xitlaly, what's your name, m'ija?"
"Allie," she replied shyly, her gaze on the four-year-old twins. They gazed back at her.
"Hola," one of them said.
"Dat means hi," the other one said.
"Hi," Allie said.
"Wanna play?" The one with the finished braid grabbed Allie's hand gently. "We brought dolls."
The other twin danced impatiently while her mom finished braiding. "Maaaamiiii," she whined.
"There, go," the mom said, tying it off and sending her away. "Be nice!" she called.
"Si mami!" twin voices piped back.
Clint grinned and sat next to the mom. "I'm Clint," he said, proffering a hand.
"Ana," she replied. "How old is your girl?"
"Four."
"She's adorable."
"Thanks. So are yours."
Ana shook her head wryly. "They're adorable but they're pure energy."
Clint smiled. "Yeah, well, mine's a little bit calmer." He watched Allie introduce the twins to her Bucky bear, and by her gestures, he figured she was telling them who the real Bucky was.
"Are you married, Clint?" Ana asked, and added hastily, "It's not a pick-up line, I'm married myself. Just wondering."
Clint wondered if married to the job/married to his team was valid, and shook his head. "Nope. Single dad, that's me."
"And you've still got time to take her to the park," Ana said, smiling. "That's wonderful."
"Yeah." He grinned. "Yeah it is. And I've got a really good support system. It's good."
"Good." Ana was distracted by something. "Kimberley don't get muddy!" she hollered.
Clint and Allie stayed for a while, and then it started to look like rain, so he went and collected her. "Time to go, sweetheart," he said, holding out her jacket.
She pouted up at him. "But we're playing house," she said, pointing at the dolls and the bear sitting on the see-saw.
"You can play house at home," he said, picking up the Bucky bear. "Say bye to the twins, baby, we gotta get home before it rains."
The little kids said their goodbyes, and Clint and Allie headed for home. Allie walked a block before leaning against Clint's leg. "M' tired," she said.
He picked her up. "Just a little way to go," he promised. "You can sleep if you want, I've got you."
"But ice cream," she protested.
He rolled his eyes. "It's cold and you want ice cream?"
"Yes pwease."
He raised an eyebrow. "What if we tell the others to bring ice cream home with them?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." He shot off a text to Steve, who replied 'ok'. "His response times are getting faster," he mused.
Allie leaned her head on his shoulder, her arm around his neck. She was playing idly with the collar of his jacket. "Can we go to the park tomorrow?" she asked.
"Maybe," Clint said.
"Mmkay." She sighed, her fingers curling loosely against his neck. "I take nap," she decided, sighing again.
He kissed her forehead. "Okay. You take a nap."
She was asleep by the end of his sentence.
They got to the tower five minutes later, and he tucked her into bed sans cowboy boots. She didn't even stir for the next forty-five minutes, worn out from her adventures in the park.