Week 3, Day 4
Pietro woke the next morning to the smell of something he had never smelled before. It was definitely food, but he had never smelled anything this delicious before. He remembered what the old man had said about using powers in the house, or more specifically, not using powers, but if there was food involved, then this certainly counted as an 'emergency'. He made it down the stairs in record time, not even noticing when he practically ran through Clint.
"Hey, watch where you're going" Clint yelled, making a grab at the speedster, but missing.
"Bet you didn't see that coming" Pietro called. It was becoming what Clint called his 'catchphrase'.
Wanda was already sitting at the table when Pietro raced in, eating something brown and dripping with amber syrup. She looked up rather innocently when he asked why she hadn't woken him.
"You were sleeping" Wanda widened her eyes in feigned innocence. Pietro rolled his eyes.
"You know how much I enjoy food," Pietro said. Laura, sensing an argument, hurried over with a plate laden with pancakes for Pietro.
"Well there's plenty of food to go around. Even enough for you" Laura cut in smoothly, the last comment directed at Clint who walked with an exaggerated limp through the door.
"What's wrong, hon?" she asked, seeing his uneven walk.
"Pietro ran into me."
"Only because you are too slow to catch me," Pietro retorted. Wanda giggled at the indignant look on Clint's face.
"When is Aunt Tasha coming back?" Wanda asked, swinging her legs, her bare feet making soft noises against the rung of the chair.
"I don't know" Clint sighed, "she may not want to now that the baby's name is Nathaniel and not Natasha."
"Joking" Clint hastily added when he saw the horrified look on Wanda's face.
"Now back to our resident speedster…" he drew off, looking meaningfully at Pietro.
"It wasn't my–" the Maximoff started to say.
"Laura, sweetie, don't you think Pietro needs to be punished for breaking house rules? And spilling beer on the rug last night?" Clint asked. Pietro glared at him, stuck his lip out and crossed his arms.
"Yep, and it's a carpet not a rug" Laura said, slipping into the chair beside her husband.
"Time out, then? Or splitting wood?" Clint asked.
"Just time out" Laura decided, "splitting wood for next time."
Pietro's jaw dropped in indignation. He started to speak but Wanda kicked him under the table and Pietro closed his mouth, rubbing his shin.
"Eat your breakfast and then it's time out," Laura said softly. Pietro sighed and picked up his fork.
"C'mon, Wanda I have something to show you" Clint crouched down so he was on eye level with the younger Maximoff twin. She glanced at him and then back at Pietro, who sat facing the wall where Laura had arranged him five minutes ago.
"He'll be fine, I promise" Clint reassured her, his eyes serious for once.
Wanda chewed her lip and finally nodded, slipping her hand into Clint's.
They walked out to the barn and Wanda waited outside while Clint rummaged for something inside. He emerged, carrying something in a bag. Wanda eyed the misshapen cloth suspiciously but followed after him. They continued around the side of the barn, reaching the back of the barn where targets were painted on the wood. Wanda slowly walked up to one of the targets, letting her fingertips hover over the weather-beaten paint and closed her eyes. Images of Clint and Laura painting the targets danced across her closed eyelids. She opened her eyes to find Clint looking expectantly at her.
"Ready?"
Wanda nodded, frowning slightly. Clint grinned as he watched her small brow wrinkle in confusion.
"Here" Clint crouched down and handed her the bag. Wanda gingerly pulled out a small bow, her brow wrinkling even more.
"I'm going to teach you how to shoot" Clint explained, "see, your hand goes–"
"No" Wanda interrupted. She dropped the bow; Clint's reflexes the only thing preventing it from hitting the ground.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't want to learn to kill people," Wanda murmured, looking down with her long brown hair covering half her face. Clint reached up and tenderly brushed her hair out of her eyes.
"Wanda, it's not just to kill people. It's also to protect yourself," Clint explained. He sat in the grass and balanced the bow delicately in his calloused hands. Wanda slowly reached down and let her fingers hover over the bow.
She carefully picked it up, testing its weight and finding a balance, mimicking Clint's previous actions. The archer grinned, getting up as Wanda held the bow.
"Stand like this," Clint directed, his hand carefully directing Wanda's fingers into the right position around the bow, like he had when Lila and Cooper were learning to shoot.
"Laura?" Pietro asked, his bottom lip poking out.
"Pietro, you know you have at least ten more minutes" Laura responded.
"But I have to pee."
"Pietro, you can use the bathroom once your timeout is over" Laura explained. Pietro made a whining noise and stuck his bottom lip out even further.
Less than five minutes later, Pietro complained again.
"Pietro, you can go chop wood or you can sit on the stool for another five minutes" Laura said. The speedster frowned and started to kick at the rungs of the chair until his legs were a blur. In a minute, the entire chair collapsed under Pietro with a loud crash.
"Pietro!" Laura's anger quickly evaporated, turning to concern as Pietro stared up at her with a wobbling lower lip and tears quickly filling his eyes.
"Hurts" he whimpered, clinging to Laura. He cradled his left wrist against his chest and Laura gently pulled it away. She could see that nothing was broken, but Pietro still winced when she touched it.
"Let's get some ice for you" she said calmly, easily scooping Pietro up and balancing him on her hip as she walked over to the fridge.
"Honey, we're back" Clint's voice sounded through the house, with Wanda's lighter voice chiming in.
"We're in the kitchen" Laura called back as she wrapped a few ice cubes in a kitchen towel. She handed it to Pietro, who sat on the kitchen counter, instructing him to put it on his wrist.
"What happened?" Clint asked as he walked in, Wanda balancing precariously on his shoulders.
"Pietro broke the chair and hurt his wrist" Laura explained, pecking the archer's cheek affectionately. Clint carefully deposited Wanda on the counter next to her twin and moved to Pietro's side.
"We should really start making a drinking game of how many things you've broken or destroyed in this house" Clint commented, carefully examining the Maximoff's wrist. Pietro frowned at him and withdrew his wrist.
"It's not broken" Wanda said softly, as she pressed against Pietro.
"Probably just a sprain" Clint agreed, "though that's more than what could be said for the chair."
He gestured in the vague direction of the chair that now lay in virtual splinters on the floor.
"I'll fix it this afternoon, but Pietro, you're going to help me" Clint decided.
"And then you'll start on the sunroom?" Laura hinted, grinning as she wrapped her arms around Clint.
-tbc-
Just a note: from now on there will be time jumps (or whatever you call them). At the beginning of each chapter, the time the chapter takes place is in italics. Also, apologies for taking so long to write this chapter. Please review!