Hiya, sory for the wait. Had an 8 hour shift today that was murder on top of my classes. :P Anyway, thanks so much for the comments, favs and follows and to anyone who's just reading! Glad everyone liked how Clint reacted to Thor and to Bookdancer (love the user name btw) eventually the're gonna contact Barney. Might even be next chapter, ya never know! Anyway, hope you enjoy!
The next morning marked the third day since Clint had been turned into a child and Tony was unhappy to say that they were still no closer to finding a cure than they had been the first. Reed and Pym had gotten into an argument about how to recreate the alternate dimension Pym particles, Reed saying that it would be easier to go through a portal and get new particles the same way he'd gotten the fist batch and Pym saying that they had a better chance of understanding them if he recreated them himself.
The next morning was also the first morning Clint awoke not to find Captain America in the kitchen. Earlier that morning the Avengers had picked up a call requesting help in Wakanda and Tony, Bruce, Steve, and Natasha had rushed to the aid of Black Panther, leaving Thor to watch Clint. Thor had elected to stay behind himself, trusting the other could handle themselves and only a little sad to miss the action.
When Clint awoke he found the god in the kitchen sitting at the breakfast table. "Where's Steve?" He asked shyly. Now that it was just him and Thor he realized just how massive of a person Thor was.
Thor smiled widely and he felt his fears ebb. "Not to worry, Captain Rogers will be back before nightfall. He has traveled to the kingdom of Wakanda to do battle there."
Clint raised his eyebrows in worry. "Is he going to be okay?"
"I would count on it. Now, to breakfast. I have been told to give you cereal but I think a better breakfast might suit us both. I have asked friend JARVIS to order us two breakfast platters."
In no time at all a door bell rang and Thor, in perhaps an over dramatic display of ability unlatched the window and flew down to retrieve the food. Clint ran to the window and watched him descend and found himself laughing when the delivery boy jump about a mile in the air.
He returned to his seat so Thor wouldn't know he had been watching and waited with his hands folded. When Thor returned he smiled widely and took the lids off of two breakfast platters which he'd had sent from a local restaurant. "I myself do not find cereal an adequate meal." He said, setting down a portion in front of Clint that was far too big for him.
Clint dug in, eager to show his gratitude and Thor laughed heartily, copying him and eventually finishing both of their meals.
Once Clint had disappeared to get dressed Thor cleared the table and put away the boy's leftovers. He took a moment to think, it pained his to see a boy Clint's age so shy and timid yet he sensed that beneath the surface there was a curious and perhaps even adventurous child. He had caught a glimpse when he'd first arrived. In the excitement of thinking he'd met a wrestler the boy had been overcome by his excitement.
The others had said hey were impressed, so far he was the only person other than Steve that Clint seemed comfortable with. Bruce had wondered if that was because the two of them were somehow more fanciful to him. Steve he had recognized as Captain America and Thor he had initially believed to be a wrestler.
Thor frowned, gazing out the window, the boy had looked a little disappointed that morning when he saw that he was not dressed in his armor or his cape. He thought of changing back into them to cheer the kid up but thought the better of it. He wanted Clint to like him as the adult Clint did, for who he was, not because he looked like some Midguardian television figure.
He finished clearing out the breakfast plates and went to check on the boy. When he found him, Clint was sitting on the floor playing with his new Lite Brite. There were toy cars scattered around at his feet and the Etch N' Sketch was lying near by. He jumped a little when he felt Thor's shadow fall over him. And when he looked up, his face was worried. Thor smiled.
"I just came by to say that the Captain has recommended a park down the street and I thought we might visit around lunch time. It does not do well to stay indoors all day."
Still looking nervous Clint nodded. "Okay."
Thor lingered in the doorway for a moment, hoping he could get another smile out of the boy before he turned and left.
Clint relaxed once the door had closed. It wasn't that he didn't like Thor, but seeing him without his cape had made him realize how stupid he'd been to think the man was a wrestler. Still, Thor could fly and that was pretty neat. He absentmindedly pressed the little pegs into a sheet of black construction paper to make a tree. He liked the tower and he liked Steve and Thor seemed alright and when he thought about it, he liked Natasha too, she was very pretty and so far had been nice. Still, he didn't know how much longer he could stay, Steve had said they wouldn't send him home but he had his doubts.
He didn't feel like he belonged at the tower and anyway, all of his belongings were at home and he didn't really own anything here. Steve had bought him all of his toys and Natasha had bought him all of his clothes. He felt bad and he was surprised none of them had complained about him how much money he was costing them.
He set the Lite Brite aside and lay back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. There was an ache in his chest. He didn't know how much longer he would be allowed to stay or for how much longer people would want him to. Soon Captain America would realize that he wasn't a good boy and he would be sent home. As he lay there he thought that maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing. At least he was used to his home. He picked up the teddy bear and stroked it's fur. If he was allowed to take anything back with him, he hoped it would be the bear. He had a bear at home and it was nice and all but it hadn't been picked out by Captain America!
He sighed, turned off the Lite Brite and went to the window to look out. New York was stretched beneath him. He pressed his nose to the window and sighed deeply, still holding the bear. He wanted to believe Steve, he so desperately wanted to.
Around noon Thor returned to find Clint playing with the Lincoln Logs and the little figures that went with it. He jumped when Thor knocked and sat guiltily in the middle of a mess of toys. Thor smiled broadly and told him it was time for lunch and he had made sandwiches. Clint followed him to the kitchen, surprised that Thor wasn't angry about the mess.
"It looks as though you were having a fine time, young Hawk." The god said.
And he had been, after a while of looking out the window he had returned to playing with his toys and gotten lost in building. He smiled a little and thanked Thor for the sandwich. "Why do you call me a hawk?" He asked.
Thor laughed. "Just a nick name. No sense behind it. Do you not like it?"
"No, it's fine. I just never had a nick name before." His father called him stupid a lot but he didn't think that counted.
Thor smiled. "Then I am pleased to have given you your first."
Clint smiled too. Somehow, he really liked Thor and that was surprising because he had known the man less than a day. Usually it took a lot longer for him to grow to like a person. But Thor just seemed to have an air of genuineness to him that put Clint at ease.
When they finished eating Thor suggested that they go down to the park. They took the elevator which Thor complained was far too slow, making Clint laughed and he reminded the god that he couldn't fly. Outside the sky was darkening for a storm but Thor said he was sure they had enough time for the park and the way his eye twinkled when he said it made Clint sure he knew what he was talking about.
The park had a playground and as Thor settled onto a park bench he encouraged the boy to go and play. Clint was delighted, his parents never took him to a playground. There was a little one near his house but it only had a set of swings and a slide. This one was big, with ramps and monkey bars and a jungle gym. He played on the swings for a little while before a girl came over and asked if he wanted to play on the seesaw with her.
Across the park Thor sat watching. He smiled when the girl came and asked Clint to play with her. He was glad to see the boy running around and even laughing. After a while there was a clap of thunder and the first few drops of rain began to fall. Thor motioned for the boy to come and Clint did, red in the face from playing. Across the playground the girl waved goodbye as she left with her mother. Clint waved back to her and turned to Thor who grinned. "Shall we return?" He asked.
Clint nodded and with a wink Thor scooped him up. Immediately the boy froze but as Thor began to rise into the air he relaxed and looked around with wide eyed wonder.
They flew back to the tower, only just failing to beat the heavy downpour. Once inside Clint smiled widely and used both of his hands to push his wet hair off of his forehead. "That was amazing!" He cried.
Thor laughed. "Perhaps when the weather clears I can take you out for a real flight." He said. "For now though I think we should change into dry clothes. It is not wise for us to remain in this soggy state."
Clint hurried off to go and change and met Thor in the living room, his hair still plastered to his face. With a laugh the god handed him a towel for his hair and helped him dry off. His large hands rubbing the water out of the boy's hair with ease. To his delight, Clint didn't flinch once.
They settled onto the couch and JARVIS recommended a movie and The Jungle book entertained them for the rest of the afternoon. Clint liked the songs and Thor liked the dancing characters and when dinner time came he left the boy to watch the movie and called for takeout.
Clint sat alone on the couch, comfortable and happy. He had never been able to watch two movies in a row and the food was good and people actually made sure he got lunch. A lot of the time he could only count on lunch if he was at school. He was also allowed to take as long of baths and showers as he wanted and no one yelled at him for using up the hot water or for running up the water bill. He sank into the couch, his legs hanging off the end, not long enough to reach the floor. The couch was clean and comfortable, and for once he felt totally at ease.
That night Thor left Clint to watch the Flintstones and waited for the others' arrival. He stood by the window, half watching the street below and half watching to see if Clint had fallen asleep. They boy seemed to trust him but didn't seem willing to get close to him. He frowned, thinking. Maybe he was just too intimidating. It pained him to think that. But then he reminded himself that he'd only spent one day with the child and maybe he just had to be patient.
His eyes flickered back to the boy on the couch. The child sat watching the television with bright eyes and a smile. It pained him even more to think that the only time Clint smiled like that was when he thought no one was watching. A weight settled in his chest at the thought and he crossed his arms. Never in his life had he imagined his teammate to be such a quiet child. It didn't seem right.
Not long after Clint began to drift off and Thor encouraged him to go to bed. "Rest well, young Hawk. The others will have returned by morning."
As Clint lay in bed he looked up at Thor. "Thank you." He said.
Thor smiled. "You are welcome."
The others arrived home not long after Thor had put Clint to bed and he greeted them enthusiastically. Steve apologized for staying away for so long and explained that they had had to stay for a meeting with T'Challa.
Thor nodded. "Then everything went well?"
"Yeah. All taken care of." Tony sighed, sinking into the couch.
"Was everything okay here?" Bruce asked.
"I believe so. He spent the morning in his room and later we went to the park."
"Did he have fun?" Steve asked, coming back from the kitchen with a cup of coffee.
"Yes, he played with a little girl until it rained."
They sat for a moment. "Thanks for staying with him." Tony said. "It really made everything easier. God, I can't wait to get him back to normal. He's a pain in the ass normally but this is too much and the tower's not a place for children."
"I agree. We're not exactly cut out to take care of a kid." Bruce said.
Thor hung his head, in truth he had enjoyed spending the day with Clint and he had enjoyed making the boy smile and if only for a brief moment Clint had opened up and been wildly happy. He held on to that, disappointed that the others had not experienced it. "He's not too much trouble." He said at last.
"I didn't mean that." Tony said quickly. "Just that it'll be better when things are back to normal. You know, the way things are supposed to be."
Natasha crossed the living room. "I'm going to go and check on him."
She stepped into the dark hall and made her way silently down to Clint's room, cracking open the door with out a sound. She stood for a moment, watching the little boy's back rise and fall as he lay spread out on his stomach. She smiled. It was a sloppy way to sleep but it seemed very like him. She lingered for a moment longer before silently closing the door.
Thanks so much for reading. Clint is a little doubtful that he'll get to stay and those worried will be faced soon also for the people hoping for a little Tony-Clint one on one time don't worry, all of the Avengers will get to baby sit Clint on their own. I promise! I don't wanna give too much away but Tony and Clint is coming soon.
Anyway, next chapter should be up next monday, sorry I can't update on fridays like I did in the beginning, four hours of class and then 8hr shifts at work are taking up a huge chunk of my time, also I've got a bunch of Halloween parties to gt ready for. I'm gonna be Supergirl for Halloween, I got a really cute costume. I wanted to be Emma Frost but figured that it was a little skimpy to wear to a party in the woods (im throwing it on my farm, haha) Still want to dress like her sometime. Oh well, if you leave a comment and are gonna wear a costume for halloween and feel like sharing, I'd love to know what you'll be. I work at a costume and party shop and love hearing what people want to be. tata for now!