So the latter half of this chapter kinda came out of nowhere for me but I ran with it. This chapter isn't overly depressing...in fact, my beta described it as fluffy in some places, so the real sad stuff comes next time apparently. Two movie quotes/references seemed to work their way in here and there was almost a third (to Firefly the show) but I decided it didn't fit. Kudos to you if you've watched all the pop-culture-y movies and get all the references!

Cats, Cake, Death, and Other Fun Things

Her finger pressed the call button before she could stop herself, and she held the phone up tightly to her ear. The wind breezed past her in puffs, swishing her hair about as she waited for him to pick up. When he did, she didn't even give him a chance to speak. "Back door. Now. No questions asked."

To his credit, it took him only four and a half seconds to appear at the screen door, looking both delighted to see her and worried about her cloak-and-dagger tactics. "Bob!" He wrenched it open and bounded down the steps, pulling her into a hug. Bobbi held onto him tightly, her stiff muscles relaxing gradually in his embrace.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" he asked when he finally released her.

She'd already told him no over the phone but she understood his need to hear it again. "No, I'm fine. But Lance...there's some stuff I need to tell you before I can see her." She gave a slight jerk of her head towards the inside.

"All right, okay," Hunter murmured in an unsteady voice and giving her an uncomfortable glance.

Bobbi mounted the steps and closed the screen door behind him as quietly as she could. Leading him up the stairs, she noticed the room customarily Natasha's had its door open, so she headed for it. Natasha herself appeared in the doorway at the last second, holding Liho in her arms. Her green eyes stared into Bobbi's for a moment, and then she handed her the cat and sidestepped out of their way.

"Wow, she keeps this place immaculate," Hunter breathed as he stepped inside after her. His eyes swept over the tightly-made bed, the carefully closed drawers of the dresser, and the lack of personal items, well, anywhere. Bobbi could see Laura's touch in the painting on one of the walls, but other than that the room was pretty sparse unlike the rest of the cozy Barton house.

She sat down on the edge of the perfect bed, Liho settling down on her lap with his tail hanging off, curling from side to side every once in a while as she absent-mindedly stroked the silky black fur on the top of his head. Hunter cautiously sat down next to her. "What's with the cat?"

Bobbi gave a slight shrug. "I guess she thought I needed him. Do I really look that bad?"

"You do look kinda grave, Bob," Hunter admitted. He stared at her, fear slowly filling his eyes the longer he looked. "Oh God, I know that face. Who died? Not Mack?"

Bobbi shook her head.

"Coulson? Skye? Fitz? Trip?... Trip?"

She nodded in confirmation.

"How? Why? Who?" Hunter demanded. "I'm going to kill whoever it was."

"You can't kill an alien city," Bobbi replied dully. "Coulson's already ordered it blown up. But Trip…"

"Doesn't make a damn difference for him," Hunter sighed, sweeping a hand over his forehead and close-cut brown hair. He eyed her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just...Isabelle."

"She's fine, she's with... Oh." Hunter stopped, shaking his head profusely. "I'm not telling her!"

"Thanks, Hunter, very helpful!" she rolled her eyes. She shot him a glare before dropping her gaze again, running her fingers over the softness of Liho's back. Soft rumbling purrs vibrated her legs and she felt several sharp pokes into her thighs—of course Natasha wouldn't have her cat declawed. "We'll tell her together," she said finally. "But…"

"Not now," Hunter said, sliding a bit closer to her. "She's been so happy here, Bob. Can't it wait until we've left?"

"Lila's party is today," Bobbi remembered.

"Yeah, and it's only half over."

"We'll tell her later, then," she agreed. She cast a sad glance at the door, seeing Isabelle playing out there somewhere in her mind's eye. "Let her keep her innocence as long as possible."

"Yeah." Hunter leaned in and then kissed her slowly, softly. After a few moments, he pulled away, their foreheads still resting together. "You ready to face her, put on a smile?"

"No," Bobbi breathed back honestly, capturing his lips with hers again. This time it was she who broke them apart, clasping his hand with hers instead. "I think we need to have a serious talk about Isabelle's future."

"All right," Hunter nodded carefully, as if feeling out where this was going, trying to interpret the sudden shift in direction. He gazed at her with a bit of apprehension, but thankfully she saw no fear in his eyes now. He trusted her to include him in this talk—it wasn't the talk, it was a talk, a talk between two rational adults. Two parents. Equal. "But right now...is it really the best time?"

She shook her head, staring at the floor and then up at the ceiling as if looking to them for answers. "I know it's not, but...so much is going on—going wrong—and I just...I need to feel like we have a plan, like we're in control."

"Okay," Hunter said, scooting closer to her. Liho hissed as his tail was caught accidentally between them, and Hunter reluctantly moved back a bit at the cat's titian death stare. Grumpy but satisfied, Liho curled his tail over his nose as if to protect it from further aggravation. Hunter looked back at her. "Okay. I get you, Bob. I remember. It's the same reason you like to bury your feelings in an op when bad things happen. It's all right. As long as you don't shut me out this time."

"I won't." She paused, taking a deep, steadying breath. "All those questions the social worker asked that we just tried to circumvent—we actually have to answer those, Lance. Where are we sending Isabelle to school? How do we explain why she can't mention all of this to her teachers and friends? Who's going to pick her up at the end of the day?" She swallowed. "And what about later? High school, college—I have no idea how to raise a daughter through all that!"

"Hey, I have even less experience since I'm not a girl," Hunter shrugged. He put his arm around her. "We'll figure it out along the way. Besides, university can't be that much different from how it was...thirteen years ago? Fourteen for you." He stopped. "Damn, we're old, Bob."

She smacked him in the arm. "It's very different. So much more competitive and harder to get into now. And the costs!" Her eyes widened. "We're going to have to start saving now."

"It can't cost that much," Hunter shook his head, pulling out his phone. "Look here...total of thirty-five grand a year on average for public and sixty thousand for private?!" He looked at her, alarmed. "At sixty thousand a year, Isabelle's education costs more than my soul!"

"Well, at least everything through high school is free," Bobbi said weakly.

"Yeah, and thank God the only things we seem to buy with our salaries are beer for me and Cactus Cooler for you," Hunter muttered, still staring in shock at his phone. "Think Coulson would be up for giving us a pay raise?"

"I think we'll be lucky if we get paid much at all with the state of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finances," Bobbi told him wryly. "It's not like it was before, when S.H.I.E.L.D. was a big, internationally-funded intelligence agency."

Hunter sighed. "And you're sure we can't forge a degree or two on Fitz's fancy lab equipment?" The fond look in his eyes told her he was trying to get a laugh out of her, and he succeeded.

"And that's just school," Bobbi said finally. "What about teaching her about us, about who we are? Do we teach her to fight? Do we let May be her instructor because she's the only one who's ever taught martial arts before? Are we ever taking her to England?" That question stuck out as more important than the rest so she ran with it, mind going a mile a minute. "I know how important it is to you, and I don't want her to grow up not knowing that—never being a part of that."

"Of course we'll take her to visit England someday," Hunter assured her offhandedly. "But when she's old enough to appreciate and remember it."

"And your mum?" Bobbi asked.

Hunter's lips twisted into a smile. "My mum would love to know she has a granddaughter."

"But—"

"She won't care, Bob. She'll understand. Better than I did at first," he promised. "But that's a while off, at least, while we're dealing with all of this."

Nodding reluctantly, she opened her mouth to utter yet another concern only to stop as she noticed something white and smeared down the front of Hunter's shirt that she hadn't noticed before. "What happened here?" she asked, running her finger alongside it curiously.

"Cake batter," Hunter admitted. "And maybe some frosting mixed in. Laura baked a cake—a nice-looking one too—but Lila and Isabelle decided they wanted to try to make their own."

She smiled. "I take it that didn't go so well."

"Definitely not." He eyed her. "You've got some on you too, from hugging me."

She looked down at herself to find that he was right. "Oh, and now it has cat hair stuck to it," Bobbi grimaced.

He grinned. "Welcome to living with a four-year-old." His smile slowly faded. "But seriously, Bob...sometimes I wonder whether we're really the best thing for her, whether our lifestyle—"

"Don't," Bobbi said, putting her hand forcibly over his mouth to keep him from saying any more. "I—I can't deal with that question right now."

He gently removed her hand, eyes soft. "Yeah, it's a question I don't really like asking either."

There was a bang at the door and they both jumped—was that supposed to be a knock?—before a streak of small limbs and bright blonde hair came barging in, stopping and squealing happily at the sight of them. "Mommy, you're here!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We were just planning how to surprise you, bear," Bobbi replied quickly, standing up from the bed as if she'd been caught guilty and barely catching Isabelle who barreled into her arms. Liho, momentarily forgotten, hissed as he toppled tumultuously off her lap and slunk out the door.

Her daughter's mouth formed a small 'o' and she pulled away slightly. "Sorry about ruining the surprise, Mommy," she mumbled.

"It's okay," Bobbi told her, hugging her again. "I'm just really happy to see you, Isabelle. I missed you so much!"

Her daughter squeezed her tightly. "I missed you too, Mommy."

"So what have you been up to while I was gone?" Bobbi asked as soon as Isabelle had released her.

"Lots of things!" Isabelle replied with a huge smile. "Lila and Cooper's house is so fun!"

"I heard you made a cake," Bobbi prompted.

"Yeah, baking is messy," the girl wrinkled her nose. "But afterward Clint sent us outside because we were dirty and we got to ride the horses." Isabelle tugged on the bottom of her shirt. "Can we get a horse?"

"I don't think where we live could fit a horse," Bobbi told her honestly. She glanced at Hunter, who was shaking his head emphatically.

"A little pony?" she tried again.

"We couldn't fit anything larger than a dog, love," Hunter told her.

Isabelle turned to Bobbi and began to jump up and down. "Did you hear that, Mommy? Daddy said we can get a dog! Can we can we pleeeaaassseee—"

"That's not what I—" Hunter exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Maybe when you're older," Bobbi said with a laugh. With Isabelle, it wasn't even forced.

The girl looked at her seriously. "My birthday's soon. I'm turning five!"

"Much older," Bobbi corrected. Isabelle pouted.

"Do you know when your birthday is?" Hunter asked. At first Bobbi thought he was just attempting to distract her, but then she realized—Hunter may not actually know when it was. Even though it was her fault, the thought hurt. A lot.

"December 21st," she said, looking at him proudly.

"Do you know what year?" Hunter queried.

Her eyebrows knitted together cutely. "This year?"

Both Bobbi and Hunter laughed. "No, I mean the year you were born, love."

Isabelle shrugged. "I don't know."

"2009," Bobbi told her, ruffling her hair. Her eyes met Hunter's. "So what else have you been up to while you're here?"

There was a knock at the door, and they all turned to see Clint—dressed down in the way he only did at his own house—standing just outside. "Cake time," he told them with a grin. He didn't seem surprised to see Bobbi here, so perhaps Natasha had told him. Isabelle's eyes lit up and she raced past him and down the stairs, Hunter following her with a nod at Clint.

"How are you?" Clint asked, catching Bobbi in a strong-armed hug as she approached the door.

"I'll be okay," she told him.

"Good." He released her. "Still planning to leave tonight? You know you're always welcome to stay."

"After the party's over," Bobbi nodded. "Things are...crazy back at the base right now. They could use an extra hand right now."

Clint nodded. "Okay. Let's go have some cake."

Bobbi gave a half-smile as they headed down the stairs together. "This is the one Laura baked, not the kids, right?"

"Right," Clint grinned. "Food poisoning was a bit of a risk with the other."

The kitchen was decorated with streamers and other birthday-related decorations and Laura stood at the head of the table with the chocolate-frosted cake and the three kids clustered around her eagerly. Clint's wife batted Cooper's hand away from it as he reached to scoop up a stray fleck of frosting. "Wait for me to cut it," she admonished with a slight smile. Laura deftly inserted the last of the seven candles, and Natasha picked up the lighter. It ignited with a click and soon there was a small flame dancing from the slight breeze—the windows were open—atop each of the candles. Lila and Cooper greeted Bobbi enthusiastically—"I'm so glad you're here for my birthday party, Aunt Bobbi!"—but then immediately returned their attention to the chocolatey deliciousness sitting in front of them.

"Okay, time for the picture and then singing," Clint said, picking up his camera.

"I'll take it," Hunter offered, stepping forward.

"Don't be ridiculous; get over there," Clint jerked his head towards Laura and the kids. "There's a tripod around here somewhere…"

"It's by the coat rack," Laura told him.

"It's by the coat rack," Clint said to Hunter as if he had come up with it himself. Bobbi rolled her eyes, then went to stand with Natasha, Laura, and the kids as Clint set it up. Hunter came to stand next to her. Setting the timer for the picture, Clint adjusted the angle one last time and then hurried to stand at Laura's shoulder.

"Say cheese!" he said as the blinking orange light became solid.

"CHEESE!" Snap. Clint went back to check the picture as the kids fidgeted restlessly.

"Another," Clint announced, and Cooper and Lila sighed audibly.

"Come on, Dad…" Cooper complained.

"We stop him when the candles start melting onto the cake," Laura told Bobbi with an amused expression.

"I remember from last year," Bobbi laughed.

"Okay, back into position!" Clint called though no one had moved. He set it going again and came back to stand with them.

This time the "Cheese!" was much less enthusiastic.

"Dad, the candles are melting," Lila informed him.

"All right, all right," Clint said. "It was a good one anyway." He began putting the tripod away as the kids once again clustered around the cake, joining them in a few seconds with his phone held aloft, tilted into video mode. "You ready, Lila?" he asked.

"Yes!" the girl grinned.

"Okay, singing starts in 3...2...1…"

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Lila, happy birthday to you!" they all sang, Isabelle more off-key than most.

"And many more!" Clint proclaimed at the end, still recording. "All right now you can blow out the—"

Lila took in a deep breath and puffed all the candles out at once, Cooper and Isabelle looking on eagerly. After Natasha pulled them out and set them aside, Laura took up the knife and began slicing the cake, giving a piece first to the birthday girl, then to Isabelle, and then to Cooper. The kids quickly ran off to a small table set aside for the with their cake. Soon all the adults had plates of cake in their hands too, almost not before the kids appeared again wanting seconds.

Once they had all finished and Cooper had bused the plates, stacking them by the sink—after a pointed look from his mother—Clint stood up. "Following tradition, it is now time for the post-cake water fight," he announced.

"Water fight?" Hunter asked.

"You'll see," Bobbi murmured in his ear.

"But it's November," he whispered back.

She smiled. "As long as there's no snow on the ground…"

"Team captains: Lila and Cooper," Clint continued. "Lila, since it's your birthday, which color do you want to be?"

"Blue!" Lila said quickly, sticking her tongue out at Cooper. "Like the Jedi. You're red, like the Sith."

"Good to know you're raising your kids right," Bobbi said to Clint with a smirk.

"You also get to choose first for your team," Clint prompted.

"You, Daddy," Lila smiled.

"Cooper?" he asked.

"Hunter," the boy replied immediately. Bobbi turned to her ex-husband, impressed, to see him with a surprised look on his face from being chosen so quickly.

"Isabelle," Lila said next.

"Mom," Cooper chose.

Lila was silent for a second. "Lila?" Clint prompted.

The girl bit her lip, looking between Bobbi and Natasha. "...Aunt Bobbi."

"Traitor," Natasha told her, teasing, "You'll regret that."

Cooper grinned. "Auntie Nat."

Teams chosen, Clint quickly rattled them off—"So it'll be Lila, me, Isabelle, and Bobbi vs. Cooper, Hunter, Laura, and Nat"—before sending them out. "Lila, Cooper, you know where your teams' respective weapons caches are. One of you out the front, one out the back. And as always…" Clint grinned. "May the least-soaked team win."

"Come on, team!" Lila called excitedly, motioning towards the front door. Cooper's disappeared out the back. The Blue Team trooped outside with Lila leading them, holding onto Isabelle's hand.

"Here we are," Lila announced, pushing back the branches of a bush about a hundred feet from the front porch to reveal a blue outdoor toy chest. She lifted the lid to reveal an entire arsenal of water weapons—everything from blue pistols to blue large-barreled guns, to—

"Is that a grenade launcher?" Bobbi asked as Clint pulled out the item in question.

"It's a water balloon launcher," he grinned.

"Do they even make those?"

"Dunno. Had a engineering buddy at S.H.I.E.L.D. who had access to a 3D printer do some work for me," Clint winked.

"Cooper won last time, so it's our turn," Lila told them, mimicking a pep talk. She was already toting a large water gun that was about half as big as she was and had a pistol sticking out of her jeans pocket. Next to her, Isabelle was investigating the secrets of yet another water pistol.

"Here," Clint said, handing Bobbi something she could only describe as a water shotgun with a strap around it. She put it on her back using the strap diagonally across the chest and armed herself further with two smaller guns. There were a few more weapons still in the chest but Clint closed it after inspecting his water balloon launcher. "Remember, the house is out of bounds." He gave a stern glance at Lila.

"Fine," she huffed. "But not the barn."

"As long as you don't shoot in the direction of the horses," Clint nodded. "So, what's the plan, Captain?"

"We have to get water for the big guns first," Lila told them. "The hose is next to the house."

"The pistols are the only ones pre-filled, for fairness," Barton reminded Bobbi. All of a sudden a small squirt of water hit him in the face, and they all looked at Isabelle.

"Fun!" she grinned, finger happily on the trigger.

"Good, but we want to shoot the other team," Bobbi told her.

"Oh. Sorry, Clint," the girl told him bashfully.

"It's okay," he assured her. "It was mostly my face, so it won't count much. We want to shoot your dad, Natasha, Laura, and Cooper so that their clothes get all wet. Sound good?"

Isabelle nodded. "Yeah!"

"Let's go," Lila said, motioning them forwards. She led them on a small path through the bushes and around a few trees until the side of the house was visible, at which point they all crouched down to be hidden by the foliage except Isabelle, who was too short for it to matter. "Dad, you go by that side of the house," Lila pointed towards the corner that connected the front and the side. "Aunt Bobbi and Isabelle, hide in the bushes right across from the hose. I'll fill the large guns while you guys cover me and roll some water balloons back to you, Dad."

Bobbi grinned at Lila's casual use of spy lingo. "Got it, Captain." She handed Clint one of her pistols to protect himself with and then took Isabelle's hand, leading her further on while Clint sprinted across the relatively open section to duck behind the corner of the house. Once they were in position, she made sure Isabelle knew how to shoot and then explained that they were waiting for someone on the other team to attack Lila so that they could get them back.

"I wanna get Daddy," Isabelle grinned.

Bobbi smiled. "You know what? So do I. And Natasha too."

They didn't have to wait long. "Ambush!" Clint shouted, and they immediately looked in his direction to see him getting hit with sprays of water as he ran back towards cover. Lila stood up from where she had been filling and began shooting at his attackers.

"Come on! Let's help!" Bobbi grabbed Isabelle's hand and they ran towards the water fight, shooting jets of water of their own towards Cooper and Laura. When Clint reached them he turned back and began shooting his wife and son in earnest—meaning with better aim—and the two of them took cover behind the corner of the house where Clint had been previously.

"Here, Dad," Lila came running up with her arms full of water balloons.

Clint laughed maniacally, handing Bobbi back her half-empty pistol. "Now we're talking. I'M COMING FOR YOU, COOP!" He dashed towards the side of the house with Bobbi and Isabelle following, raising his water balloon launcher and shooting it. Bobbi and Isabelle stopped just in time to see it explode all over Laura, soaking her. "Oops, sorry, I thought you were—" Clint said, looking at his wife apologetically.

"Don't worry about it," Laura said, raising her gun. "All's fair in love and war, and this is a bit of both." She sprayed him in the face before taking off while he wiped water out of his eyes.

"You know it's really on when she starts making Harry Potter references," he told Bobbi, reloading his weapon and running off after his wife.

Beside her, Isabelle shrieked and Bobbi looked down just in time to see a water balloon burst all over the back of her daughter's shirt. They spun around to see Hunter standing there, holding his own launcher proudly. It was aimed at Bobbi this time.

"Hey, Bob, hey, Isabelle," he grinned.

"I'm all wet!" Isabelle declared, shooting him in the chest. "That's not nice, Daddy."

He shot the water balloon at Bobbi, but she managed to bat it away with the muzzle of her gun so that it exploded harmlessly against the ground. Then she raised it and sprayed him, Lila coming up next to her and doing the same so that three jets of water were all hitting Hunter at once. "Hey, you're teaming up on me," he complained good-naturedly, trying to load up another balloon amid the spray.

"We're in teams for a reason," Lila stuck her tongue out at him. One by one their guns ran out of water, leaving them defenseless as he finally managed to get another balloon loaded into the chamber.

"It's not working anymore, Mommy," Isabelle said, looking at her gun with a puzzled expression as she continued to pull the trigger.

"Run, Isabelle!" Bobbi shouted, breaking right as Lila broke left. All three of them sprinted for the hose as Hunter ran after them, albeit much slower thanks to the small pile of water balloons he was forced to carry with him. Bobbi reached the hose first and began filling her large gun and then Isabelle's smaller one before handing the hose off to Lila.

"I'm gonna get you, Isabelle!" Hunter called.

"Come on, we'll draw him away," Bobbi said, taking her hand again and heading for the bushes and trees a small ways from the house. Sure enough Hunter chose to chase them rather than go after Lila.

"Can't catch us, Daddy!" Isabelle called behind them as they ran. By the time they reached a small copse of ferns to hide in, Isabelle's cheeks were flushed with exertion and excitement.

"Shhh," Bobbi whispered, listening for the sound of Hunter's footfalls on the underbrush. She pointed in that direction, and Isabelle shot her gun right as Hunter appeared, catching him in the chest.

"Got you!" the four-year-old grinned before taking off back towards the house. "Run, Mommy!"

Bobbi wasn't so lucky. A balloon exploded against her chest, soaking her all the way through. She looked down at herself, plucking two bits of red plastic off it and pocketing them, and then at him. "You were kinda hoping my shirt would become see-through, weren't you?"

"Kinda," Hunter agreed with a sigh.

She rolled her eyes, shooting him in the chest for good measure before running after Isabelle. The girl was headed for where Lila was still at the hose, topping off her gun as she alternately filled and shot at her mother, who occasionally peeked out from the corner of the house.

"Hey, Lila," Cooper called, and with a jolt Bobbi realized he was right behind his sister. Lila turned to receive a water balloon to the left shoulder and then to the stomach as Cooper threw them at her by hand from less than two feet away. Lila narrowed her eyes and leveled the water hose at him, spraying him in the face at full blast.

"Ack!" Cooper's hands went up to protect himself too late and he turned and scrambled blindly away from the onslaught, getting completely soaked in the process. Once he was out of range, Lila shut off the water, blowing the pretend smoke off the top of her "gun" with a haughty mischievousness in her eyes.

"That was awesome!" Isabelle told her, stopping right in front of her with Bobbi not far behind.

"Served him right," the older girl grinned. Somehow their entire team ended up together again as Clint sprinted in for more ammo, telltale new water marks splattering his shirt and pants.

"I see you found some Red Teamers to get shot by," Bobbi said as she filled her and Isabelle's guns again. Clint began to pile more water balloons into a pouch he made with the bottom of his shirt, revealing the white of his undershirt underneath.

"Trust me, the little devil is wetter than I am right now," Clint said. "What concerns me more is the fact that I've seen neither hide nor hair of Nat this entire game."

"I haven't seen her either," Bobbi frowned. "That...can't be good."

"No," Clint agreed. A jet of water hit the ground next to his foot, causing them both to jump and raise their weapons only to find no one there. "Did you just try to squirt me?" Clint asked Isabelle. "I'm on your team, remember?"

"I know!" Isabelle exclaimed indignantly. "I didn't."

"Maybe it was an accident," Bobbi shrugged, picking up the hose she had just dropped.

"Birdbrains," someone called. "Look up." The four of them looked confusedly towards the sky.

"The roof," Clint said, pointing. Natasha stood on top of it, feet planted firmly against the shingles, holding what looked to be one of the large water guns with a long, stiff tube attached to the front of it. She lifted it—her sniper rifle, Bobbi realized—and sprayed Clint directly in the heart with a smirk. "Hey, you can't modify the weapons," he complained as they all raised their own weapons to shoot back up at her. The jets of water reached a few feet below her before gravity pulled them back down to splash in their own faces as Natasha laughed.

"Oh, this?" she asked, patting the rifle. "I don't need this." She pulled a bucket out from behind her, hefting it over the side of the house directly above their heads and tipping it before they even had time to scatter. A torrent of cold water cascaded over the four of them, who were standing so close together that they all were drenched.

"And that is why we haven't seen her," Clint grumbled, spitting out some water and wiping the mop of his own hair off his forehead and slicking it back closer to where it normally went. It half-stayed, half-flopped back, creating weird spikes all over the place.

"I'm really all wet now!" Isabelle exclaimed.

"Yeah, I think they win," Bobbi said, squeezing some of the excess water out of Isabelle's hair before doing her own.

"Never give up, never surrender!" Lila shouted, shaking her water gun at Natasha.

Bobbi looked at Clint. "Oh great, you've shown your kids Galaxy Quest too."

"Of course," he grinned. "But Lila…"

The seven-year-old looked down at her soaked body. "Fine." She put a hand to her mouth to amplify her voice. "COOPER. I CONCEDE. YOU GUYS WIN."

"Awesome!" Cooper poked his head out from behind the corner of the house. Natasha disappeared onto some other section of the roof with her weapons, presumably to find her way down.

"Good game," Bobbi told Cooper. Hunter appeared next, still holding a couple spare water balloons.

Isabelle ran up to him. "Can I have a water balloon, Daddy?"

"Sure," he smiled, giving her a green one.

She smashed it against his chest, then put her hands on her hips with what she must have thought was a fierce expression. "There. Now we're even."

"I suppose we are," Hunter said, halfway between surprise and laughing at the adorableness of it all. "Who taught you that line?"

Isabelle looked back at Lila. "No one."

Hunter smiled. "Here, put these back for me." He handed her the remaining two water balloons, and she dutifully dropped them back in the bucket.

"Not so fast," Clint said as Natasha and Laura approached. "I believe there's a rule that says all unused water balloons at the end of the game have to be used on the person who's least wet." He looked pointedly at Natasha, who didn't have a drop on her except for on the sleeves which was likely accidentally self-inflicted just from dealing with leaky toy water guns.

"What?" she demanded. "That wasn't a rule last year. You can't just make it one ex post facto!"

"All in favor?" Clint looked around at them all. Lila's and Bobbi's hands shot up, and with a small nudge from Bobbi Isabelle raised hers too.

"All against?" Natasha asked. In a show of solidarity, all of Team Red raised their hands.

"Four and four, your measure fails to pass," Natasha told him smugly.

"But the birthday girl's vote trumps all, so…" Clint grinned. She narrowed her eyes at him, which was all the permission her fellow Avenger needed. "Blue Team, to the water balloons!"

Crossing her arms, Natasha glared at them all as they dragged the bucket closer. Sadly, there were only eleven left.

Bobbi smiled. Only.

Lila picked up a balloon first and chucked it at her aunt, splatting her across the face. Bobbi made sure her shoulders were thoroughly soaked. Clint's caught her right in the nose. Isabelle's mostly hit the ground but a few struck her on the legs and burst on contact, making Isabelle jump up and down with delight.

When all of the balloons were gone and they had recovered normal oxygen levels despite all of their laughter, they put the weapons back in the toy chests and Bobbi and Hunter and Laura and Natasha dragged them back into the barn and stacked them on top of each other for storage while Clint built a fire in the fireplace so they wouldn't all freeze. Laura made hot chocolate—with little marshmallows, apparently Isabelle's favorite part—and they all sat around the fire just exchanging water fight stories and enjoying each other's company.

It was a little past seven when Bobbi remembered and her happiness faded away. It was time to leave.

See, sad stuff next time. I hope you enjoyed it! I'd love to hear what you thought :)