Enjoy!

Chapter Thirty-Seven

RECAP: "We saw Uncle Stevie kissing you last night!" Natalia squealed, followed by a burst of giggles.

"WHAT?!

My face paled.

"We're doomed."

Steve practically flew off the couch and zoomed towards the kitchen, Uncle Clint right on his heels. I had never seen my uncle's face so red in my life; like a volcano about to explode with searing hot lava. Steve leaned against the counter, completely blocked in on all sides; not one of his smartest moves.

"You did what to my niece?" He lunged at Steve, landing a good punch to his eye. Steve grasped it for a second, only to have to use that hand to stop another blow to the face.

"Stop it, Clint." He ordered.

"How dare you lay a hand on her!" Uncle Clint roared, swinging with his free left hand, only to find his wrist trapped in Steve's large hand.

But that wasn't about to stop him as he kicked Steve in the leg, the pain causing the super soldier to let go and my uncle flew backwards from him. He was going to advance again in blind rage, except he was blocked stiffly by Aunt Nat.

"Calm down." She ordered, folding her arms sternly. She was giving him her 'don't mess with me' face. He immediately straightened himself up, but he was looking straight past his wife and glaring at Steve.

"Natasha, did you hear what he just did to my niece?!"

"Our niece and I think you need to calm down."

"He kissed me." I answered him. I wanted to make it sound as innocent as it was; an unexpected kiss between two people.

"Well, I'll make sure..."

"And I kissed him back."

He stopped mid-sentence, dumbfounded.

"You...you did what?"

"Auntie Hannie kissed Uncle Stevie, Daddy." Barney repeated simply.

Uncle Clint looked at the toddler in sheer wonder. If he had told him that King Kong was climbing the Empire State Building he wouldn't have been as stunned as he was now.

He took a few steps away from us, staring at me like I had committed the worst possible crime against humanity. My heart cracked.

"Uncle Clint, please." I tried to grasp his arm, but he jerked out of my reach.

"I've gotta go."

He swiftly grabbed his jacket and he was gone. I stood frozen to the floor, as did everyone else. As the elevator doors closed, I felt my heart sink.

"I hurt him." Aunt Nat gently placed her hand on my shoulder.

"Give him time. Even after four years, he's still getting used to this."

I turned my head to look towards her in confusion.

"To what?"

"Being a father."

Clint's P.O.V.

I didn't know how I ended up in Central Park. I had been in a daze the whole trip, finally pulling into an empty parking spot. How I ever managed not to get in an accident before parking the car was beyond me. I was much too concerned on the scene at the Tower.

How could it have escaped my notice? I was usually so good at keeping an eye on people. My code name was Hawkeye, for crying out loud. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't give you cool names like that for looking pretty.

Sure, I had felt a few odd vibes here and there between them. But I was definitely unprepared for this. Their relationship had seemed so innocent; morning coffee, rides to school (though I hated the thought of Hannah on the back of a Harley) and morning practices. Steve was great, sure. He was a good team leader, a fellow baseball fan and an all-around great guy. But as my niece's boyfriend? That wasn't quite what I had in mind.

"JARVIS," Stark had given me one of his high-tech phones since my S.H.I.E.L.D. device was no longer in service, "pull up yesterday's footage of Hannah's floor."

"Would you like it around 6:00, sir?"

"Is that when Cap was around?"

"Yes, sir."

"Pull it up."

The screen switched to Hannah's floor. It was quiet. And I knew why. They were kissing. And they were...enjoying it?

"Turn it off." As if removing the video would erase the picture from my mind.

No, no, no. This could not be happening. They couldn't be together. It was just wrong. He was like...a hundred years old, wasn't he? That had to be illegal in America, right?

"You alright?"

I sighed. You'd think that there'd be some places that Nat would never find you, especially in New York City.

"How'd you find me?" She gave me that all-knowing look of hers.

"Don't I always?"

I was perplexed by the calmness in her demeanor. Why wasn't she upset? Shouldn't she? She was just as close to Hannah as I was. Shouldn't she like, I don't know, go all ninja on Steve? Maybe she had beat him up after I left. The thought made me feel slightly better.

"What's wrong?" She questioned me.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"You know that them being together is not the real problem."

Ha! Of course it was.

"I'm pretty sure dating a guy almost five times your age is illegal."

"I don't think you'd be able to tell a big age difference between them."

"Don't do that." I replied sharply. I knew I shouldn't be so cross with her, but now was not the time to be making jokes.

"What?"

"Supporting all this." I replied in outrage. "Come on, Nat, she's twenty-two. She's a...a..."

"She's a woman, Clint."

The words struck me like one of my arrows in the chest. No she wasn't. She was a kid. She was the same seventeen-year-old kid that I had brought home after my brother died. She wasn't old enough to be doing this; sneaking around, making out with boys and the like.

"She's a kid." I reverberated my thoughts, folding my arms. I heard someone laughing and I looked over to my partner, who now looked like she was having some sort of fit.

"What's so funny?" I grumbled.

"You're pouting." She could barely contain herself as a few tears rolled down her cheeks.

"No I'm not." I slumped even further into the bench. Now I really was pouting; like some child in the store that hadn't gotten the toy they wanted. It was embarrassing. I immediately sat up in my seat and Nat suddenly stopped laughing. Her hand started to massage my shoulder, her eyes serious and almost...sad?

"She's not the girl we took in four years ago."

I knew she had changed over the past four years. It was obvious. She had matured like I knew she would. She had grown (slightly) taller, like I knew she would. She even looked grown up, like I knew she would. But this, this I hadn't foreseen. That's when it hit me.

"When did she grow up?"

I don't think any parent in the world could ever have a solid answer for this question. But one thing was for sure; time had changed her. She had gone from this spunky seventeen-year old to a (still spunky) young woman who carried herself with all the pride and grace that we Bartons possessed. I was proud of who she had become, but I was also heartbroken. My girl had grown up on me-in the blink of an eye everything had changed.

"I don't know. Somewhere in-between then and now, I suppose." For once, Nat looked a little lost. We had become the parents Hannah no longer had. She had taught me how to love like a father, and Nat, a mother. She was the first addition to our little family. And now that she had grown up, what were we to do?

My mind drifted to Nat's composure throughout this ordeal. She seemed so cool, so collected. She had even defended Steve when she should have been the one to throw the first punch. That's when I knew.

"How long have you known?"

"A while."

Silence followed. But that didn't mean I was short on questions. How did she know? When did she know?

But my questions were put to a standstill when she placed her hand on mine.

"Let's go home."

We started to walk over to the car when I came to one question that I just had to have an answer to.

"Nat, how did you find me?"

She grinned widely. "Hannah's not the only one pinned with a microchip."

Hannah's P.O.V.

Aunt Nat had left as soon as the twins were put down for their mid-morning nap, although they could hardly calm down with all the morning excitement. For now, Steve was sitting on the couch, a hunk of raw meat resting on his eye.

"So how does this hunk of meat make your boyfriend look?"

"Oh, just schnazzy." I let the sarcasm drip off every syllable as I rested an ice pack on his hurt leg.

"Your uncle has a mean right swing." He commented as I finally rested beside him.

"I'm so sorry." It was about the hundredth time I had apologized in the past hour. A part of me had expected Uncle Clint to get mad, but not to the degree that he would take a hit at my boyfriend, his own team mate. I felt so stupid for just standing there and watching it all happened.

His hand reached up and held my cheek, his expression soft.

"It's not your fault."

But I resisted.

"I should have done something..."

"I think we both know it's better he get it all out now than try to knock me off with one of his arrows later."

A small murmur of laughter rose in my throat.

"What makes you think he won't?"

"Your aunt."

I seriously doubted my uncle wouldn't find time to sneak away and still get some sort of revenge on Steve, but I tried to let him at least pretend he was safe.

He suddenly winced as his eye throbbed.

"Is there anything I can do?" I felt so guilty, I'd do just about anything to make him feel better.

"Well..." He started

"Yes?" I asked earnestly in a desperate attempt to make up for my uncle's crass behavior.

"Another kiss might alleviate my suffering."

It was a request that I was happy to oblige and I immediately consented.

I hope this chapter was well worth the wait! By the way, Cassodembreankia, how did you like my attempt at word resurrection? I love the word schnazzy now!