Notes: CC, Clint says he ain't never ever gonna learn to share. Never ever, never ever, nope. Never.

And griezz, yeah, they were all snuggled up and cozy in the bedroom. Clint knows exactly what's going on here and like I told CC... he doesn't wannnnnna share :P

Chapter 18: I Wanna Be An Avenger!

Clint was really sick and tired. Not literally anymore — Hank had fixed him up good — but… ever since Father's Day when Scott and Jean had gone to get some tests done for their baby, they were just getting sappier and sappier and doing more and more kissing even when they knew people were around to see it.

And by the time the end of the month came around and Scott was having a birthday and the kissing kept going, Clint was starting to wonder if it was going to be like this for the whole nine months.

He had slipped past the offending kissers into the garage with the full intention of grabbing his throwing knife set to have some fun, though when he saw Logan, he dropped down to sit next to him and let out a long and weary sigh.

"I am really, really tired of all the kissing around here," he declared.

"Is that an official 'back off'?" Logan asked with a little smirk as he polished up some of the chrome on his engine.

Clint turned Logan's way and then smirked. "Well… it would be nice if you kissed Mom less, but I was talking more about Scott and Jean and how they're just like this."

"Ah." Logan nodded slowly. "Probably just gonna get worse."

"Ugh. That's what I was afraid of." Clint leaned back and let his head rest on the chest of tools.

Logan chuckled at that and took a moment to tip his head Clint's way. "You sick of it enough to get outta the house for an afternoon?"

"You'd have to ask my mom, but I'd be game," Clint said, perking up a bit. "We can go camping — or — or we can go somewhere else…"

Logan nodded. "Not what I had in mind. I got a special delivery for a friend's birthday before he gets too busy."

"Um, Scott's real busy with Jean…"

"It ain't Scott."

"Okay, well, being a delivery boy isn't exactly exciting…"

"Is it better or worse if I tell you it's someone from the war?"

"Well… I dunno. Sometimes real old people have good stories and sometimes they're just grumpy," Clint said.

"He's got a few fair stories," Logan said, tipping his head slightly. "Not real grumpy though. Most of the time."

"Okay, that's good," Clint said with a nod. "I guess let's try it, and if I hate it, I'll tell Mom to hit you," he said with a troublemaking look.

"Sounds good to me," Logan said as he got to his feet and tossed the rag he'd been using at Clint just to pick on him. "Where you think we can find her?"

"Well, she was gonna help Kitty with something," Clint said. "Or at least, that's what Kitty said, but I think it was a grilling."

Logan didn't do a very good job of hiding the little growl as he started down a path — following Kitty's scent trail to see what she was up to. He didn't give them any warning, either, before he simply opened the door to the classroom that Kitty had K meet her at. "What the hell are you tryin' to pull, kitten?"

Kitty startled as she turned Logan's way. "I just — I'm just trying to get to know her!"

"Yeah. looks like it," Logan deadpanned before he turned toward K. "I'm headed into the city for a minute. Wanted to have Clint help me out."

"Have fun," K said, smirking at both of them. "I'll probably be in the pool when you get back."

Logan nodded, then pointed a finger at Kitty. "Be nice."

"How come I'm getting the second degree?" she asked.

"Because I know what you're up to," Logan said. "And it's not your business."

"Well, I think you're wrong," Kitty countered with one hand on her hip. "It so is."

"What else is new?" Logan said as he turned on his heel to head out. "Come on, kiddo."

Clint was grinning as he caught up to Logan, though he glanced over his shoulder at Kitty and then paused. "I mean… I don't want your kids getting shafted just 'cause you think you gotta be nice to me for Mom," he muttered quietly.

"I don't have to be nice to anyone," Logan replied. "She's trying to stir up trouble, and she's wasting her time. She's just mad she couldn't find anything in the system on your mom."

"Okay," Clint said, one eye closed. "I just seen how it is when you mix families and you got kids from different parents, and it ain't always pretty, so just — I don't wanna mess anything up, okay?"

"It's not like that," Logan said. "Really. She's a computer genius. She went digging for information on her and came up empty-handed."

"Oh, okay," Clint said, though now he was starting to smirk. "That's 'cause Mom's so good at hiding."

"She is," Logan agreed. "And Kitty's wastin' her time trying to interrogate her. Helluva lot better have tried with no luck. Don't know what she thinks she's doing."

"Dunno," Clint said. "But you let me give you a hard time, so maybe… I dunno. I just see what I see, and I don't wanna get in between."

Logan nodded at that. "Don't worry. I'll take Kitty out for some trouble later."

Clint straightened up and smiled a little more. "Oh. Okay, good. That's good," he said with a nod as he followed Logan out to the garage again.

Logan gestured to the Jeep on the far side of the garage. "I'm on the end."

Clint grinned and nodded and climbed into the Jeep, seeming to relax a little more as they got headed out and honestly curious on where Logan might be taking him as they got further into the city.

Traffic was tight, until Logan more or less pulled into a guarded entrance, waving his way past without looking up at the men standing guard and then heading into the dark, cool concrete garage under a massive skyscraper. "I can't promise this won't take a little while."

Clint looked a bit wide-eyed. "Are we… are we sneaking into a lair?" he whispered.

"If we were sneaking, the guys at the garage would have at least tried to stop us," Logan pointed out. "Nah. We're strollin' right in."

"To where?"

"Top floor," Logan said. "To see an old war buddy." He reached into his jacket pocket and then handed Clint a plain brown paper-wrapped package. "Wanna hold onto that for me?"

Clint nodded and clutched the bag, falling silent as he watched Logan ahead of him. It was apparent fairly quickly where they were headed, though, as the logos for the Avengers started to appear the further they got into the building — and the guards at all the entrances barely gave Logan a look as they passed through to the elevator.

Logan leaned against the back of the elevator and gestured to the panel. "Top floor, kiddo."

Clint was even more wide-eyed as he nodded wordlessly, clutching the brown paper bag even tighter. He had no idea that this was where they were going, and he didn't know what to do.

When the doors opened on the top floor, Logan put a hand on Clint's shoulder and steered him through the door, and then across the hall into the big suite that overlooked the city — and where there was clearly a baseball game on, judging by the commotion that drifted over to them. "I think they're just comin' in off a mission," Logan told Clint.

"Wow," Clint whispered softly — which was really all he could manage.

Logan gestured the way they needed to go, and before they fully turned the corner, Clint could see a flash of red, white, and blue as someone turned the corner ahead of them. "Hey Cap," Logan called out. "You do anything worthwhile, or you just posing for the cameras again?"

"Hey, baby kissing is hard work," Captain America laughed as he turned toward Logan, already grinning before he even saw Clint and then somehow grinning wider still. "I didn't know your other team was taking recruits this young — should I step in and have a word on child safety?"

Logan chuckled at that. "The way Jeannie's goin' on? You might need to," he said. "This is a little friend of mine. He decided to take the trip to town with me, since I'm gonna miss your big public party."

Cap shook his head at that. "It was more fun when it was just us, a radio, and some chocolate bars."

"Speaking of," Logan said before he gave Clint's shoulder a squeeze. "Found somethin' for you." When Clint didn't react to that, though, Logan took a minute to sign to him. You okay?

Clint blinked for a second and then glanced up at Logan, his eyes as wide as plates. You didn't tell me we were going to go see the Avengers.

Cap is an old war buddy, Logan explained. "You still got that bag, right?"

Clint nodded almost reflexively before he glanced up at Steve and turned almost shy as he held out the brown bag. "Logan ... Logan lemme hold it," he muttered.

Steve grinned and pulled back the mask he was wearing so Clint could see the easy smile there — though it really wasn't helping the star-struck expression as Steve waved them both inside. "Come on; can't let you just show up and run out like you're dropping off milk."

"Go on, he won't bite," Logan said to Clint. "Probably give you a Coke if you give him five seconds."

Clint was still just staring at Steve as he nodded wordlessly and let Steve show him back to where the other Avengers were lounging in the living room — though that had him somehow even more dumbfounded when he saw Jan teasing Tony about something while Thor egged them both on.

"Thought that armor stopped the damage from hitting you in the face," Logan called out, getting Jan to bust out in a laugh and gesture at Tony as if he was making the point for her.

"That's what I've been saying," she said, grinning over at Logan and then clapping her hands together with a delighted 'oh' when she saw that Logan wasn't alone. "Okay, who is this?"

"Gotta be Cap's," Tony called out. "Got the whole … blonde … thing going on. Ha!"

But at that, Clint flushed red and shook his head. "No… I ain't… no," he muttered.

"Clint here is one of the kids at the school. He's staying in Westchester for a while with his mother," Logan said. "Kid needed to get away from Slim for a minute. I sympathized."

"Mission of mercy," Tony mused.

"Is your mom as pretty as you are handsome, Clint?" Jan asked with a smile that was more directed at Logan than at Clint.

Clint nodded, his eyes still wide as he took in the Avengers — who were all looking at him. "Um… yeah. I think she is, anyway."

Jan waved him over with an enthusiastic smile, though it wasn't until Steve nudged him slightly that Clint actually moved forward. He could see the source of the teasing now — with Iron Man's helmet on the table and obviously smoky around the edges of the eyes.

"Did… did you get hit?" Clint asked, tentatively looking up at Tony, though he felt like it was a stupid question when he could still see soot clinging to Tony's cheekbones under his eyes.

"Yeah," Tony said, gesturing to the facemask across the room. "Hazard of the gig, unfortunately. Can't all be kissing babies and watching people swoon like Cap."

The corner of Clint's mouth ticked up in an almost-smirk as he nodded. "Yeah, guess not," he agreed. "Sometimes you end up looking like Jean when her mascara runs."

"Hey now," Tony said, frowning at him. "Inaccurate."

Clint glanced toward Logan for a second before he shook his head lightly. "Yeah… I guess it's more like when the girls at school fall asleep with makeup on and it flakes."

Steve burst out laughing at that, and Logan smirked Clint's way. "Hear that, Stark? Better check your mascara," Steve called out. "You'd be scaring babies otherwise. Keep your mask on."

Jan giggled delightedly at the look on Tony's face. "Ooh, Logan, I like this one," she said. "Where did you find him, and why didn't we get to meet him sooner?"

"Mission run," Logan said. "I tried to get 'em to send them this way, actually. Mighta struck a nerve."

"Might've," Jan giggled, though by that time, Clint had more or less tuned the adults out and was staring at the Iron Man helmet.

"Is… do you wear it just like that?" he asked at last

"Yep," Tony said, hopping up and gesturing for Clint to go with him. "Goes on easy, covers … just about everything."

"Just about," Clint agreed, though he was still staring. He looked between the helmet and Tony and then nodded to himself. "Okay. Don't… don't move. I'm… I wanna see something," he said almost hesitantly.

Tony frowned, crossed his arms, and tipped his chin up as he watched Clint. "Whatcha thinking?"

"Well…" Clint took a deep breath and held it before he dug in his pocket for his pocketknife, flicked it open, and tossed it through the eye opening. "It's kinda a dumb design."

There was just half a second or so of total silence before Logan and Steve both simply fell apart laughing at that, only made better by the look on Tony's face. "What the hell, Logan?" Tony said. "You brought a kid that can throw knives?"

"And he can do it without a targeting system," Logan chuckled. "Knew how to do it when he got to us."

Clint scrunched his shoulders up a bit. "I was just… you got smoke in your eyes and…"

"That's fantastic," Steve said, grinning broadly. "Maybe you'll knock a little sense into him, since he wouldn't listen to us."

"Aye, sometimes it takes the honesty of a child to break through when logic otherwise fails," Thor laughed, clearly entertained.

"C'mon, Rogers," Logan said, one hand still on Steve's shoulder as they both laughed. "We got other crap to get done while we're in town. Open your stupid trinket already."

"Oh, do you have to go?" Jan sang out, even though Steve was already coming to a seat.

"We can come back," Logan said, winking at her.

"You better," she said, leveling a finger his way. "You found a kid who can take Tony down a peg and knows his makeup? Where have you been hiding him?"

"I told you: Westchester. Hey. Went through a lot of trouble to find that, Cap," Logan said, tipping his chin toward the package Steve was eyeing warily as Logan took a seat next to Tony and shoved him off his chair.

Steve was still grinning over at Tony, who was now muttering to himself as he pulled Clint's pocket knife out of his helmet, before he switched gears to look over Logan's present, though he went almost entirely still when he saw the old pocket watch Logan had brought him. "Where'd you find this?"

"Madripoor."

Steve glanced up at Logan for a moment before he simply took him by the shoulders and pulled him into a solid hug. He shook his head as he pulled back again to look him in the face with a simple, "thanks."

"You're welcome," Logan said. "Glad it crossed my path. You were only there the one time, back then, weren't you?"

"Back then, yeah," Steve nodded. "But if I remember right, I was pretty busy at the time," he added with a smirk.

"Priorities," Logan said, shrugging.

"What's Madripoor?" Clint asked, his eyebrows high as he looked between the two old friends.

"Man-made island off the coast of Japan," Logan said off-handedly. "Kind of a rough place."

"He's downplaying it," Steve said with a smirk.

"Yeah, not because he's got any stakes in it or anything," Tony said half under his breath.

"Just the bar," Logan said.

"Officially," Tony shot back, pointing a finger his way.

"You got a bar?" Clint asked with his nose scrunched up. "Why you wanna be around drunks all the time?"

"It's more of a gambling den," Tony said.

"That bar's been around since the island was made," Logan said. "Just a shame to shut it down, that's all."

"Sentimental, that's what he is," Steve teased.

"So I guess I can just chuck that watch out the window then, eh?" Logan countered.

"No, it's mine now," Steve said with a laugh.

Clint climbed up to sit next to Logan, though he was peering at Steve. "So… so you've known Logan for a real long time, huh?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Steve replied, still bright-eyed and smiling. "We fought together in the Great War. Met him in that bar, actually."

Clint nodded seriously. "Oh. Yeah, if I met Captain America at a place, I wouldn't wanna tear it down either," he told Logan.

"I already had a stake in it before he came around," Logan said with a smirk.

"Uh-huh." Clint smirked right back at Logan. "Okay, but you didn't tell me you fought with Captain America. Just like you didn't tell me you're a samurai."

"You didn't ask," Logan said, crossing his arms.

"I'm only seven. How'm I supposed to know I gotta ask stuff like that?" Clint shot right back.

"Basic rule of thumb, kid," Tony said. "If they're on our side, he's fought with them. If they're on the other side … he's fought them or fought with them. Or both."

"Okay, but now I gotta make a list," Clint said with a smirk. "Like… like didja ever fight with, like… like the Red Skull or somebody?" he asked. "I read him in the comic book Storm gave me."

"Yeah," Logan said, nodding. "Couple times."

Clint gestured at Logan with both hands and turned an exasperated look Steve's way. "He doesn't tell me nothing."

"He's just like that," Steve laughed. "Doesn't think it's worth talking about unless you ask. He even turned down my offer to team up for the rest of the war."

"Why."

"I didn't need a sidekick," Logan said with a straight face.

"You know that's not…" Steve let out a sigh as Tony burst out laughing.

"Okay, but now I wanna know what happened," Clint said.

"It was a little bit of a double-cross," Steve said. "We met up with Logan after getting a hot tip that he was the guy to get us to Baron Von Strucker — who, by the way, Logan made a point of spilling a beer on as he made his way over to our table while singing a Jewish song. Loudly."

Clint grinned and clearly settled in with an expression that said he was in for the long haul — perfectly content to listen to any and all stories.