Got the Second chapter up. Clint awakes in this one
Saw that I already got a review on the first chapter too, thanks so much to Amal8!
They took Clint back to Stark tower and Bruce gave him a quick once over.
"I can't see anything too terribly wrong with him." He said. "He's a little skinny and he's got a couple of bruises but he probably just got those in the fight."
"How old do you think he is?" Steve asked. They were in the living room talking. Tony had put Clint in a guest room down the hall and come to join them when Bruce was done with his examination.
Bruce cleaned his glasses. "At a guess? Five or six. I'm sorry I wasn't there by the way."
"Don't sweat it. The warehouse wasn't that big and the other guy is more of an outdoors sportsman anyway."
Bruce smiled a little. "I sent a message to Hank telling him how old Clint is. I don't know if it'll help him much but he said he'd send it on to Reed also."
Tony checked his phone. "Natasha says she should be back in about an hour. She also says thanks for telling her how old he is, says it helped with shopping."
"What are we going to tell him when he wakes up?" Bruce asked, sinking onto the couch.
"We could tell him one of us is his uncle." Steve suggested.
"What, his parents just dumped him with an uncle he's never met before? That's a terrible idea." Tony said.
Steve shrugged in acknowledgment. "Then I don't know. Do you want to say we're family friends?"
"That's terrible too but I guess it'll have to do. I can't think of anything that doesn't make us sound like kidnappers."
They were silent for a moment before a small noise sounded in the hallway. Tony whipped around in time to see a small figure creep out of the shadows.
It was an understatement to say hat Clint was smaller now; and the oversized t-shirt he was wearing didn't improve his stature. He looked at them with wide eyes and raised eyebrows, he looked so stunned that his expression might have been comical if the reality hadn't been so serious. He stared past Tony and Bruce to Steve who was sitting in an armchair next to the couch. For a split second Steve didn't understand why but then realized that he had failed to change out of his Captain America suit.
Tony seized advantage of the situation. "You ever wanted to meet Captain America, kid?" He said with a grin.
Slowly Clint shifted his gaze to Tony and then to Bruce and then back to Steve who offered his hand for Clint to shake it. The boy backed away and peaked around the door frame, still wide eyed. Steve smiled as best he could.
"Hey buddy," Tony said, crouching down. Clint's eyes shot to him. "My names' Tony, yours is Clint, right?"
If anything the boy's eyes grew bigger. He glanced at Steve again.
Tony grin strained a little bit. "Do you want to say 'hi' to him?"
Clint bit his lip before stepping out of the hall. He gave a small wave to Steve who smiled and waved back. Then Clint looked up at Tony. "Where am I?" He asked in a small voice.
Tony faltered. "Well, um. . . this is my house and. . ."
"It's kind of a vacation." Bruce cut in. "Like a summer camp."
The boy looked between them, looking as though he was having trouble understanding. Finally he looked at Steve. "This is a summer camp?" He asked.
The lie was half baked and sounded bad to every one in the room.
Steve felt his heart sink, he already knew this wasn't going to work. "Something like that." He said.
Clint gave him a long look but must have believed him because he came more fully into the room and stood with his back against the wall.
Tony twisted his face in rapid thought, eager not to lose the small beginning they had. "Are you hungry?" He asked.
Clint nodded, looking a little surprised at the change of subject.
"Great, follow me." At his words they all stood to follow and Steve offered his hand to Clint who gaped in awe at him but didn't take it. A little disheartened he drew it back but was at least a little warmed when the boy hugged close to him.
"What would you like?" Tony asked, once they were in the kitchen.
Clint shrugged, looking around.
"We've got some oven pizzas. Pizza okay?"
The boy nodded, pulling himself into a chair and resting his scrawny elbows on the table. Steve sat down next to him and watched Tony open the pizza boxes. Bruce sat down next and gave his attempt to smile.
Finally, Clint leaned in to Steve like he had a secret to tell. "This isn't really a summer camp, is it?" He whispered.
Steve glanced at Bruce and Tony. Bruce he knew had read the boy's lips and was looking to him for an answer. Finally Steve tried for a more honest approach. "No, it's not but we're going to get you home. Don't worry."
Clint looked very serious. "Are you gonna call my parents?" He asked.
Bruce shifted. "Can you give us their number?"
Clint looked at the pizza. "Can I eat before you call them?"
With a frown Bruce nodded. "Of course."
Clint rested his head on his arms and watched the pizza cook, he still looked a bit peaked and Bruce recommended that they get him back to bed after he ate.
Natasha came in not long after to find them all eating silently. Clint jumped when he saw her and put down his piece of pizza.
Tony swallowed a mouth full and looked up. "What'd you get?" He asked.
She glanced at Clint who was biting both of his lips together and watching her nervously. "What's important." She said. "Oh and you know, I somehow ended up buying a pair of heels. I Don't know how they fell into my bag but they were there when I checked out and I didn't have a chance to stop the cashier. Here's your credit card by the way." She tossed in onto the empty plate in front of Tony.
To everyone's surprise, Clint let out a laugh and grinned before trying to hide his mouth with his hands.
Seizing the opportunity Tony played along. "Well lucky you kept the receipt then."
"Oh and about that, the darn thing blew away from me when I was getting into my cab."
"Tragic."
"Not really, they're Armani." She set down her shopping and took a seat, winking at Clint.
The boy smiled at her shyly as Tony wiped off his credit card. "My poor baby, what has she done to you?" He muttered.
"So, our guest has woken then?" Natasha interrupted, taking a slice of pizza.
"Clint, this is Natasha." Bruce said.
"Nice to meet you little one." She said with an unusually warm smile.
He gave her another shy smile but didn't speak.
When they finished eating Clint spoke again. "Are you gonna call my parents?" He asked. Throughout dinner he had remained relatively quiet, they had gotten a few more laughs out of him but that was about it so far. Mostly he stayed silent and listened. Steve had had the impression several times that the boy had wanted to say something and as dinner was ending was trying to figure out a way to encourage him to talk.
"Would you like us to now or would you rather we wait until tomorrow?" Bruce asked.
It was a strange question, Steve thought.
Clint shrugged and Bruce leaned forward. "We don't have to do it tonight." He said kindly.
Clint looked up hopefully. "Can you do it tomorrow."
"Sure. Can you write down your home number?"
They gave him a pad of paper and a pen and Clint handed it back with a telephone number. There was really no point in calling, if the number wasn't disconnected it probably belonged to someone else by now. Still they took it anyway.
"Well, what do we do now?" Tony asked. Steve glanced at his watch. It was only seven o'clock.
"I think Clint should clean up and head to bed." Bruce said, watching as the boy put his head in his arms again.
Natasha took that as her cue to take charge. "Come on little one." She said. "I bought you some pajamas and some clothes for tomorrow."
He followed her out of the kitchen with a last look over his shoulder at the others. In the hall, Natasha scooped up her shopping and lead the boy to his room. "You should brush your teeth and take a bath." She said.
He nodded sluggishly and turned into the bathroom to do as he was told. Towards the end of dinner the fever had begun to weigh him down but if Hank Pym was correct then it would be cleared up by the next day. She lay out a set of pajamas and a pair of shorts for him and then went to find him putting up his toothbrush.
"Do you need any help with the shower?" She asked.
He shook his head and turned on the spigot.
"Okay." She left him to it and went back to the kitchen to find Bruce, Tony and Steve sitting around the kitchen table. "Natasha," Bruce said, welcoming her. She sat down. "Is everything alright?"
She nodded. "He's taking a quick shower."
"That's good."
"He seems so shy." Steve said, almost thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I never imagined the guy would be such a quiet kid." Tony said, sitting back down.
Bruce seemed troubled. "I wonder. . ." He shook his head. "Anyway, Hank got back to me a few minutes ago. He's at the Baxter building with Richards and they're working on a cure."
"That's good. Cute kid though." Tony said, almost fondly.
Steve glanced at him amusedly.
At that point Natasha excused herself to go and check on Clint whom she found climbing into bed. The boy actually slipped down when he saw her. "I didn't mean to startle you, little one." She said, watching him right himself.
She helped him settle into bed and turned to leave. "Will you be alright by yourself?" She asked.
His head poked out from under the covers and he nodded.
"Alright then, good night."
Out in the hall she chided herself. All the training in the world and she had no idea how to handle a child.
I've already got the next two chapters written so there will be a definite update next week or sooner, depending on how long i can hold out!
Thanks for reading!