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"D, can you let the pups in?"
Wind got down off the counter and ran to open the side kitchen door.
"Pups, come!" He called.
A moment later two large dogs romped into the kitchen, noses on the trail for whatever they'd been invited in to clean up.
"Ok let's try again." Clint said as the dogs crunched shell and licked egg off the floor.
Cliint handed his older son a second egg. "Tap, tap, plop. Remember?"
Wind nodded, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Two hands."
He listened.
Two expectant pairs of brown eyes now peaked over the counter watching every move he made.
Wind tapped the egg softly on the edge of the bowl trying to avoid a repeat mistake. Then he tapped harder, then a little harder until the egg broke under his fingers and fell in a mess of shell fragments into the bowl. He held the remaining shell in his hand. "Can pups have it?" He asked. Clint nodded and Wind tossed it to the floor. It was gone in seconds.
"Good job dude!" His dad said. They'd been practicing this and Wind continued to work on trying to get a clean break consistently.
Wind beamed. Isaac clapped.
Clint went to work picking out the pieces of shell while the boys watched closely. "Ok, Zac's turn."
Isaac was nearly dancing in anticipation. Clint laughed.
"Ok, bud we gotta be really gentle." He took another egg and guided it between his two year old's hands.
"You ready?"
"Uh huh!" Isaac said, using the newly acquired and frequently used affirmative.
"One," Together Clint and Isaac tapped the egg on the bowl's edge. "Two," Another, harder tap. "And three!" They broke the egg open over the bowl. Isaac squealed in delight as the egg's contents fell into the bowl.
"No shell, Zac!" Wind exclaimed.
"Ok, my turn, guys." Clint said.
Clint quickly cracked an handful more eggs into the bowl then scooped up his sons, one in each arm. He kicked their chair the short distance to the sink and placed them both on it. Wind grabbed the soap bar and they took turns washing the egg off their hands.
"Back to the eggs!" Clint declared scooping his sons up once more. He kicked the chair to its original spot and put the boys back on the counter. Then he pulled the salt from a cupboard.
"Zac, gimme your hand."
Isaac held his hands out and Clint poured the desired amount of salt on his palms. He quickly turned them over, letting the salt drop into the bowl. Opening a drawer, Clint grabbed a fork and handed it to Wind.
"You know what to do."
Wind took it and went to work whisking up the eggs.
"Hey what are you guys still doing here." Clint asked the dogs. Their tails wagged in response. He went over and opened the door then came back and plucked Isaac off the counter. In a silly voice he said "Mommy says pups outsiiiiide!" And shooed the dogs out using Isaac like a broom. "Breakfast isn't ready yet!"
Isaac giggled uncontrollably.
Back on the counter, Wind was too focused on his task to even smile at his dad's antics.
Clint set Isaac on the ground while he went to heat up a pan with butter in it. He added a couple more spices to the eggs and a little milk while Wind kept whisking.
"Thanks, little man."
"Can I scramble now?" Wind asked.
"Yep." Clint said, picking up Isaac who was beginning to complain he wasn't up with his brother. "You go ahead and move your chair to the stove."
Wind got down and pushed the chair while Clint took the egg bowl in one hand and carried Isaac in his other arm.
"Remember the pan and stove can burn you."
"Owie!" Isaac iterated.
"Exactly, bud!"
Wind reached and took a wooden spatula from a container on the counter. Clint poured the eggs into the pan and supervised his boy's scrambling skills. He helped Isaac carefully take a short turn with the spatula much to the (outspoken) chagrin of his older son. When the egggs were done, Clint turned off the stove and moved the pan off the burner.
"Alright guys, go get the dog bowls." He said, putting Isaac down. Wind leapt off his chair and ran for the door. Clint pulled the dry dog food box off the fridge. The boys came back in and Wind slammed the door behind him. Two metal dog bowls clanged as they were cheerfully set on the kitchen table. The boys scrambled up onto chairs. Clint scooped out dogfood and handed it to Isaac who dumped it in one bowl. Then he scooped a second for Wind to pour in the other bowl. The dog food container was then returned to its perch. Clint brought the pan and scraped some of the scrambled eggs into each dog bowl.
"Puppy breakfast time."
The boys hopped onto the floor and Wind took one of the bowls while Isaac went to open the door. At the door Clint handed the other bowl to Isaac. They were greeted by two eager furry faces.
"Aarow! Mars! Sit."
Clint was echoed by his sons in unison. Wind said 'sit' clearly while Isaac's seemed a variation on 'shit'. He'd get there. In the meantime Natasha and Clint couldn't get enough of it.
Both dogs obeyed while the boys put their bowls in separate spots.
Wind looked at his dad.
"You can tell 'em."
"Ok," Wind yelled with unnecessary volume and both dogs launched themselves at their breakfasts.
"Our turn." Clint said and headed back inside with Wind and Isaac on his heels.
.
A smile came to Natasha's face as she entered the kitchen and saw her boys. They were spooning eggs into their mouths while chatting up Clint. An amused expression was plastered to his face as they unintelligibly told him many many things. Natasha stopped to lean down for a kiss as she passed behind his chair.
"How's Steve?" He asked after she broke away.
"Oh you know. Cap as usual." She said as she refilled her mug from the French press. "I gave him what I could. He's still got plenty of legwork to do just to find out if my intel is even still usable." She stepped over and drained the last of the coffee pot into Clint's mug.
"Thanks." He smiled at her as she sat down at the table. Their fingers entwined on the tabletop.
"There are plenty of eggs left in the pan." He told her
Wind gulped down a huge sip of milk and chimed in, "We made breakfast for the pups and us!"
"Thank you, little one. I'll definitely have some in a little bit."
She took a sip of coffee and let herself soak in the moment. After spending part of morning on a video call with Steve, she couldn't believe this hadn't always been her life. He was tracking an organization that had reared its ugly head for the first time since her pre Avengers days. She had plenty of intelligence on them from her work back then, but whether it could help now was unclear. Regardless Steve appreciated her taking the time to share what she did have. And that was it. Call ended. She'd walked down the hallway and back into her world of vibrant little boys and a peace neither she nor Clint could have ever imagined or hoped for themselves.
Isaac put his spoon down and climbed down from his seat. His bare feet slapped against the wood floor as he ran around the table to Natasha. He didn't say anything as he crawled up into her lap. She rubbed gentle circles on his back with her free hand as he cuddled against her chest. She caught Clint's eye and they smiled at each other.
"Did you cook with daddy too?" She whispered to him.
"Uh huh." He replied in a loud little kid whisper.
"I scrambled the eggs." Wind said in a slightly quieter whisper.
"That's so good, Wind." Nat said, still whispering.
"Why are we whispering?" Clint whispered.
Nat pressed her cheek to the top of Isaac's head. "Because we're cuddling!"