"Come on Nat, I'll take great care of them. Don't you trust me?" A certain billionaire questioned sarcastically.
"That's the problem Stark. I don't trust you with this," Natasha Romanoff said truthfully. "But don't take it personally, I don't really trust anyone with my children. Not yet anyway."
"You haven't left their side in three months," Clint added. "Go out and enjoy yourselves for a few hours. We can handle everything here."
"Guys we're serious here. We're trusting you tonight," Steve said seriously. "Please take care of James and Lucy. And no monkey business or experiments okay?"
"I promise Cap, no funny business. And Pepper is on her way over to help out so don't worry," Tony said.
"That makes me feel a little better," Natasha added. "But will we need to pay her extra for babysitting four children?" she said playfully.
"Ha. Ha ha ha. That's funny Tash," Clint added. "But seriously, we have everything under control, go out and have a nice dinner. And you better not try to call us every fifteen minutes."
"Okay fine, we're going," Natasha said. "But let me say goodbye first." She walked over to the two cribs in the nursery. Once James and Lucy were born, Tony had built a huge nursery in the tower for when they stayed over. Tonight was one of those nights. Steve was taking Natasha out in the city for their wedding anniversary, and that left Clint and Tony in the tower to watch over the twins. Natasha looked down into the sleeping faces of her children. She leaned down to each crib, lightly placing a kiss on each of her children's foreheads. "Goodbye guys. Be good for Uncle Tony and Uncle Clint okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's enough Red," Tony stated, pushing Natasha and Steve toward the elevator. "Now get out of here and have a good time will you?"
"Alright Stark, we're going," Steve chuckled as the elevator doors opened and he and Natasha stepped inside. "But if anything happens to them, I'll have your ass."
"Yup, I've got it Cap. Now go! And you better not be home until after 11:00," Tony yelled after the couple as the elevator descended.
"Okay," Clint stated, clasping his hands together. "What do we do now?"
"Well, Pepper's flight back to New York was delayed so she won't be here tonight. That leaves just you, me, and the kiddos pal," Tony replied.
Clint looked back at his friend as a devious smile spread across his face. "We could do some target practice downstairs."
"No way, Natasha will have our heads if we leave the kids on the floor alone. I guess we should just chill out here tonight. They're asleep already, so they should be good for the rest of the night, right?"
"Yeah, I think so," the archer responded. "And why don't we watch a movie? My vote is for The Shining."
"Alright, sounds like a plan. I'll get the popcorn."
"I think I should call," Natasha said almost pleadingly to her husband.
"No Natasha, we already agreed on this. No phone calls, I'm sure they're fine. Let's just enjoy us tonight, alright?" Steve and Natasha had just been seated at a restaurant in the city that Steve had picked. It was very elegant, and perfect for the occasion.
"You're right," she said with a small smile as she reached across the table to take Steve's large hands in her own. "I'm overreacting. I know that when it comes down to it, Clint and Tony will be fine watching James and Lucy. Besides," she continued playfully, "JARVIS can always give them instructions."
Steve laughed, moving his thumb back and fourth across the back of his wife's hand. "Okay, that's enough for now. Tonight is for us, so let's enjoy it."
"Alright soldier, you win. What's good here?"
Clint and Tony sat alone in the living room, watching The Shining on DVD. Sometime around 8:00, it started pouring. The rain sounded like a thousand bullets hitting the tower each second.
"Sir," the Voice of JARVIS interrupted. "Young Mr. Rogers is now awake. You asked me to inform you if either child awoke."
"Yes JARVIS thank you," Tony replied to the A.I., pausing the movie. "Come on bird boy, let's go see what's up."
"I thought you said that they weren't supposed to wake up?" the archer replied, confusion lingering in his voice.
"Yeah, well I guess I misjudged the situation."
"You were wrong," Clint replied, a toothy smile spreading across his face.
"No, I wasn't entirely wrong. Lucy is still sleeping," the billionaire said entering the nursery and motioning to the sleeping figure. "And James isn't crying—yet. I don't know what's wrong with him. Okay, come here squirt," Tony said quietly as he lifted James into his arms. He motioned to the door with a nod of his head and left the room, Clint following close behind.
Tony was the first to speak once the three of them were back in the living room. "Clint, smell the kid."
"What? Why do I have to smell him! You're perfectly capable Stark."
"Come on, suck it up and do it."
"Fine," Tony held James out to Clint as the archer sniffed his butt and coughed. "Yep, he definitely needs to be changed. I suppose you expect me to do that too?"
"Yes I do," Tony replied, handing off James to Clint. "See you in ten minutes!" Tony said before disappearing down the hall.
"Okay buddy, let's get you cleaned up."
"There ya go, now isn't that better?" Clint held up three-month old James to admire his work. He couldn't get the diaper to stay on, so he found some making tape to use instead.
"What the hell did you do?" Tony questioned, reentering the room with a new outfit for James.
"I couldn't get this stupid thing to stay closed so I found some tape," Clint answered proudly as James babbled happily to himself.
"Well, whatever floats your boat. Anyway, I got James a new outfit to wear," Tony walked over to Clint and James, holding up an Iron Man onesie. It was red, gold, and complete with an arc reactor decal. "And before you flip out, I had a Hawkeye outfit made for Lucy. It looks like yours, but it's pink."
"Normally I would oppose, but we can have some fun with this," Clint said mischievously.
"Now you see my point! Come on, let's go wake Lucy up and change her into that Hawkeye outfit."
"Well, the building's still in one piece," Steve said as he led his wife into the elevator in Stark Tower.
"Yeah, I don't hear any explosions or smell any smoke. But let's get up there and see for ourselves. Hopefully our children are asleep and unharmed."
"I'm sure they're fine Nat. But did you have a good time tonight?" Steve questioned innocently, pulling his wife into his arms.
"I had an amazing night Steve. Thank you," she smiled as she brought her soft lips up to meet his tender ones. The elevator came to a stop and Steve released Natasha as the elevator doors slid open. The two walked out anxiously to meet Tony, Clint, James, and Lucy—all wide-awake at 11:30 p.m. Tony and Clint were both sitting on the ground. Tony had Lucy—dressed in some ridiculous Hawkeye outfit, and Clint had James in an Iron Man outfit. Both men were propping the kids up in a standing position, making sound effects as they used the twins like dolls in a pretend battle. Lucy and James were babbling and laughing as Clint and Tony continued to play.
"What are you two doing?" Natasha questioned. "My children are not dolls!"
"Welcome home Tash! They're fine, look at them! Lucy's actually not crying for once, and they're both having a good time," Clint said quickly.
"Chill out Red, they were good for us. And you should be thanking us, we're tiring them out for you," Tony added.
"Okay guys, we're not mad at you. We might just have to return these outfits," Steve said with a smile. He approached the two men, and Lucy stretched her arms out towards her father as she spotted him. "Hey princess, come here," Steve said lovingly as he bent down and took his daughter into his arms. He planted a soft kiss on her head, noting that she got the same exact hair color as her mother.
At the same moment, James started to cry in Clint's arms as he got up to hand him back to his mother. "There's my little man!" Natasha said excitedly as she took James into her arms and looked into his sleepy eyes. "I think a certain set of twins are tired out, huh?" She said lovingly, bouncing James back and fourth in her arms as his eyelids began to droop.
"Look at you two," Clint said through a smile. "You turn all soft around your kids."
Natasha then proceeded to flip Clint off as she and Steve went to the nursery to put their kids to bed.
"See Natasha? They're perfectly fine," Steve whispered to his wife once the twins were fast asleep. "Maybe we should go out more often."
"Nice try Rogers, that's not going to happen," she said, leaning in to kiss him softly before exiting the nursery.
A/N: Eh, I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. Please leave me reviews and feedback! I'll be happy to fulfill any requests!