"I'll leave the clean up to you on this one Cap. Good job, team."
"Iron Man signing out Agent, you can thank me for my awesome robot destroying skills by way of delicious food..."
"Widow out."
"Yes sir, Agent Coulson. Captain America over and out."
"Banner, with pants, boarding the Quinjet. Out."
"Winter Soldier is headin' home, babe. Tell Clint I'll meet him in the nets in 20. "
"Please refrain from nicknames on comms Soldier..." I reprimand James but it's more in embarrassment of my blushing than a real warning, "I'll let him know. Coulson out."
Over the past ten days I have been in meetings (arguments) with Marcus over my working tendencies and scheduling errors as I now have Clint to care for. We have decided on holding me behind the scenes, on surveillance duty, at the Tower during minor Avenger call-outs and I'll only need to be present in major incidences. I can complete any and all paperwork at the tower and it's best I stay within range of Clint for at least the next month in order to help him ease into Tower life and it's in habitants.
"Wazat James, Phil?" Clint asked excitedly as he bolted into the area newly designated for me as liaison to the Avengers with Max at his heels. Tony had JARVIS set up a passcode for entry in case something happened during a fight we didn't want Clint to see, he only gains entry whenever the footage is off. He's had enough trauma to last a life time, we don't need to add to it.
"Yeah ace. He said he'll meet you in the nets in 20 minutes." I hefted him onto my hip as I unplugged my headset and headed towards the kitchen to start making lunch for the team.
"Yay! S'everyone okay? Wazzit th'octopuses 'gain?" Clint asked, he was a very loving child as well as curious once he had the confidence to ask questions.
"Not this time, buddy. It was some nasty robots but we got them and nobody was hurt, there's just a bit of a mess to clean up. Speaking of messes... Have you tidied your room and the nets for you and James to play in?" I ask Clint before setting him on the kitchen counter to grab food to make sandwiches and soup.
"... no. I can be r'lly fast n' do it now!"
"Okay. Are you going to be practicing your gymnastics?" I encourage Clint while helping him down from the counter. He's had this fascination with heights and jumping off of things recently, I haven't figured out whether it's a phase or a habit that's helping him adjust; either way, Tony was good enough to extend his tree-house bed even more, adding nets, ladders and trampolines above the branches for Clint and James to practice and play on.
"Yep! Can've a p'nut butt'r n' jelly sammich after, Phil, please?" Clint asks me politely, his twinkling blue eyes staring up at me. And I reach down to kiss the top of his head.
"Of course you can buddy. Quick, go get cleaned up for James!" He smiles and runs off giggling, Max having decided to stick around the kitchen for the food.
That's another huge step; Clint feeling comfortable enough to ask for food or a drink or help with something, as well as him learning to do his own thing without Max's constant presence. It's also great to see Max getting along with everyone, he wasn't overly pleased with James bringing him to the vet for a check-up but he got a nice new dog bed out of it.
"What a beautiful scene to come home to..." James grins outwardly as I catch his eye from his stance in the kitchen door. I glance down at myself in realisation of my messed attire; white shirt sleeves rolled up, tie askew, top button undone, stirring a newly made soup.
"Hi." I blush.
"Hey," James saunters over in his dusty 'suit, smiling and greeting me with a breath-taking kiss.
"Your son is waiting... And the food is cooking..."
"Oh, so he's /my/ son as soon as we have to stop making-out..."
"No, he's /your/ son when he wants to do gymnastics in the ceiling otherwise I would break my neck. And this food is seriously not going to finish itself."
"Heh. Has the papers gone through on the adoption agency yet?"
"Not yet, I'm just glad to be able to do it and that Clint wants us. Even after a week."
"He loves us! Don't worry about it! And, I am taking you out this week, just us, I swear! Mmm... It smells good, save us some!" James groans and kisses my forehead before jogging towards our apartment.
That's another thing, we /still/ haven't been out on our first date yet. I'm not annoyed or upset because it's understandable with everything happening at once but I'm definitely looking forward to some time for just the two of us.
"Okay guys, food's here."
I call out, searching through Clint's room for my boys.
"TOUCH DOWN!" James' voice echoes through the room as Clint lands a perfect finishing pose two feet in front of me, arms in the air with a smile as bright as the sun on his face.
"Wow. That was amazing, Clint! Well done!"
"I know. I'm a great teacher." James' grin resonates through his tone in my ear behind me as he completes an extended version of Clint's landing.
"Izzit Gold, Phil? James says imma be n'lympian n' win GOLD!" Clint shares a grin with James as they clean their hands of chalk and tape.
"You can win gold if you try your very hardest ace. And you can be or do whatever you want. But, pinkie promise you'll always remember how you got there? What does Tony always say?"
"Dum-E, I'll send ya t'communtee coll'ge..." Clint replies as James doesn't even attempt to smother his laugh.
"Not that one. 'The only way I became Iron Man is the memories of what and who I was before I got there'. The only way you'll get gold is remembering what it was like to get bronze and silver first..."
"Phil, he's six..."
"James, Clint is very smart, aren't you bud? And I know how amazing you are, so keep that and prove it." Clint nods shakily before clutching onto my neck in a hug. James continues to send me a disbelieving look as we make our way onto the other side of Clint's tree house with the den area. At this rate Clint probably knows the Tower layout better than us with all his snooping and running around; he has been educated on all emergency situations from day 1 because that's why he's here, to be safe and cared for and loved.
Every time I walk into Clint's room it still stuns me to look at this magnificent piece of art (as there's no other word that's near acceptable) that Tony created overnight for this homeless little boy to learn and grow and live in. The separated 'trunk' of the design includes bookcases and hiding places. The 'branches' extend out into boardwalks, nets and a trampoline for Clint's gymnastics. The 'house' is a work station with a desk and more storage space. A 'bird's nest' extended from the 'house' is Clint's bed with a direct eye-line to the stars and sky above, although he spends half the night with James and I due to nightmares. I know Tony had to knock out at least half of another floor for the 'tree house' to fit, but even the areas below are geniusly laid out to include storage spaces, den areas and workstations. It's remarkable and I don't think I truly understood the level of Tony's abilities until I saw him design and create this over two nights. I always knew how life-changing the arc-reactor was but I am not a scientist but I do have a background in DIY and architecture from somewhere or other; I can feel this. And it is extraordinary.
"Uhhh! Phil! This soup is /amazing/." James moans almost lewdly next to me on the sofa in Clint's den as Clint chows down on his PB & J sandwich between us.
"You're welcome."
"Thank you, Phil... Do I have to get hearin' aids like Cecil 'n Spy Kids 4? Or do I getta be like Phil n' his 'Venger's head-set?" Clint asks out of the blue. We had informed him of his deafness and hearing aids but he's six and just shrugged his shoulders so we didn't push him. Maybe he was trying to work it out in his own mind what it meant, what it was, how to live with it; and we have been educating him on the best kid's films over the years (I am a spy agent so he had to watch spy kids, /obviously/).
"I dunno, buddy. I thought Cecil was really cool with his hearing aids, cracking codes and stuff. And I /know/ Phil is awesome on his headset to us, but that might be a bit big for your little head. It's up to you, Clint." James casually responds, knowing not to make a big deal out of Clint's decision.
"And you know if you don't want them then you don't need them right now. As long as you can understand us." Clint nods as he finishes his land bite of sandwich.
"'Kay. Can we learn secret lang'age?"
"Like sign language; talking with your hands?" I suggest, overjoyed at any chance to teach Clint something new and share something between our family.
"Yeah! Can we do that?" Clint asks hopefully looking at both James and I.
"I would love to learn our secret sign language with you Clint. I'm pretty sure Phil already knows some too." James does love a challenge, and Clint.
"Cool!"
"I do know quite a bit. But I'm sure we could add in lots of our own secret signs. Like 'little bird' and 'Max' and 'pretty soldier'..." I signed as well as talked out the hand signals and letters.
"What a charmer!" James laughs and kisses my cheek as Clint giggles in between us and Max jumps up to lick our faces from his position on the floor.