#bartoned

You rubbed your eyes and dragged yourself out of bed and into the shower. When you got out, Clint was deep asleep again, his mouth hanging open, looking much like his daughter. You dressed in sweats and headed out still feeling nauseated and exhausted. Kari was dragging herself up the path of your house as you stepped outside looking just as miserable as you felt. “Hope it was worth it,” she teased.

“I don’t remember,” you grumbled.

“Alright, come on. I ordered a car so we can sleep in the back,” she said.

You did fall quickly to sleep in the back of the car only to be shaken awake again when you arrived at the hairdresser.

The next few hours were a complete whirlwind. You were given your first glass of champagne while they were doing your hair and it wasn’t until you were on your third at the hotel getting your makeup done that you remembered you hadn’t eaten yet.

Wanda arrived with Nattie at 11, both with their hair already set and you ordered room service and had lunch before you got dressed.

By the time you put on your dress, you weren’t feeling hungover, though you might have moved past exhausted to tipsy and a little bit loopy. You came out of the bedroom in your dress with your blue butterfly mask in your hand and Wanda squeaked. “Oh my god! You look like a fairy queen.”

“Mama… mama…” Nattie said toddling over, putting her hands on your skirt, and making cooing sounds. She was wearing a cute little purple gown with matching feathered wings and a filigree mask.

“You look beautiful,” Kari agreed as the photographer took photos of you and Nattie. “Are you ready to become Ms. Barton?”

“Yeah. I guess I am,” you said and Wanda handed you your bouquet of blue and purple orchids.

You went downstairs to where your limo was waiting and it was a short drive to the Brooklyn Grange. You got out and put on your masks. Kari and Wanda straightened out your skirts and checked your hair before heading up the stairs. Barney was waiting at the door to the roof and he gave Nattie the little teddy bear with the rings attached. While you were still hidden from view, you could see the crowd waiting for you. The aisle was set up between the garden beds with a long purple carpet and the guests stood in the gaps on either side. Down the length of the carpet were small jack-o’ lanterns and the garden was full of sunflowers. Clint stood by the edge of the roof with the celebrant, Natasha, and Kate. He wore a long velvet coat in purple over a black vest and dress pants. The vest had a strip of purple embroidery from the neck down to the hem and matched the purple of his tie. His mask was shaped like a hawk and in purple and black.

“You ready, Nattie?” Barney asked.

“Umm…” she said, looking around, obviously not sure what was happening, and looking up at Barney in his red suit and a simple red mask.

“You follow me, okay, kiddo? Go right up to your dad,” he said and gave a signal to the band.

A beat started that was not anything like the song you had agreed to walk down the aisle to and you looked at Kari confused. “Just watch,” she said.

Barney danced his way to the end of the aisle where all Clint’s and your friends and family were sitting and Bobbi got up and met him at the end. Then Clint began to sing.

“It’s a beautiful night, we’re looking for something dumb to do, hey baby, I think I’m gonna marry you,” he sang as Bobbi and Barney did an elaborate dance routine down the aisle that included flips, cartwheels, and a part where Barney lifted Bobbi off the ground and spun her.

“Oh my god,” you said laughing. “This is what you’ve all been up to. You nerds.”

“Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice? Who cares, baby? I think I want to marry you.”

Nattie charged down after them when she reached the aisle she began to bob and clap her hands as she watched her uncle dance with Bobbi.

“Well I know this little chapel on the boulevard, we can go, no one will no… come on girl.”

When Bobbi and Barney returned to their spots Clint danced down the aisle to meet his daughter. He kneeled down like he was serenading her and she rushed into his arms.

“Who cares if we’re trashed? Got a pocket full of cash. We can blow… shots of patron, and it’s on, girl…”

He picked her up and began to dance with her as he held her back down the aisle.

“This is so cheesy,” you said, though you couldn’t stop grinning.

“The song choice fits you two though,” Kari teased. “You gotta admit.”

“See you down there,” Wanda said, giving your arm a squeeze.

“Don’t say no, no, no, no. Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And we’ll go, go, go, go, go. If you’re ready, like I’m ready.”

She crouched down walking to the beat of the music and clicking her fingers as she approached the aisle. Sam stepped out into the aisle facing her in the same position.

“I hate how I have to go after her. Her bit is so much more impressive than mine,” Kari complained, but she kept her eyes on her wife, the look of both complete love and awe etched on her features.

“At least you’ve choreographed,” you teased. “I’m the bride and I have no idea what is going on right now.”

“‘Cause it’s a beautiful night, we’re looking for something dumb to do. Hey, baby, I think I wanna marry you.”

Wanda took off in a bright pink ball of light, using her powers to float down to Sam. He caught her around the waist and the two spun up into the air above everyone.

“Is it the look in your eyes? Or is it this dancing juice? Who cares, baby? I think I wanna marry you.”

They landed and Sam spun and dipped her before returning to his spot. Rhodey stepped out and spun Wanda into his arms, her powers flared out again and the two of them moved down the aisle spinning in the air like they were waltzing.

“Wait for Nat,” Kari said.

“Oh, I’ll go get a ring, let the choir bells sing, like oohh. Whatya wanna do? Let’s run girl.”

You gave her a nod and she kissed your cheek before moving out in that same couched move, clicking her fingers as she approached the aisle.

“If you wake up and you wanna break up, that’s cool. No, I won’t blame you. It was fun, girl.”

Steve and Bucky met her at the end of the aisle mimicking her moves. She ran to them and held out her arms. They lifted her and ran halfway down the aisle, before setting her to her feet and swing dancing with her in the middle of the floor. Spinning her from one partner to another.

They lifted her again and passed her to Tony and Bruce who stood another quarter of the way down and they carried her to the end of the aisle, spinning her between them before she took her spot next to Wanda.

“Don’t say no, no, no, no, no. Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And we’ll go, go, go, go. If you’re ready, like I’m ready,” Clint sang as he carried Nattie back down the aisle.

Wanda, Kari, Natasha, and Kate all ran around the outside of the guest. Bobbi, Barney, Tony, Sam, Steve, Bruce, Bucky, and all the kids took after them as Rhodey moved down to the very end of the aisle.

“‘Cause it’s a beautiful night, we’re looking for something dumb to do. Hey, baby, I think I wanna marry you. Is it the look in your eyes? Or is it this dancing juice? Who cares, baby? I think I wanna marry you?”

The whole group danced down the aisle positioning themselves at various intervals down the aisle as Clint backed his way to the end again as he sang.

“Just say I do. Tell me right now, baby. Tell me right now, baby, baby.”

Natasha came over and offered you her arm. You linked yours with her and tried to match the little groove she did as she moved to the end of the aisle.

“Just say I do. Tell me right now, baby. Tell me right now, baby, baby. Oh!”

She kissed your cheek and added a purple feather with a gold arrow painted on it to your bouquet.

Rhodey beckoned you to him doing a side-to-side groove and then repeated the kiss and addition of a feather to your bouquet. All the way down, the process was repeated again and again with different dance moves. Steve spun and dipped you. Bucky lifted you and twirled with you above his head. Tony did the chicken. When you reached Clint, the band dropped out and he took your hand and sang directly to you.

“It’s a beautiful night. We’re looking for something dumb to do. Hey, baby. I think I wanna marry you. Is it the look in your eye? Or is this dancing juice? Who cares, baby? I think I wanna marry you.”

Tears pricked your eyes but you couldn’t stop grinning at your dork. You leaned your forehead against his, your masks making a soft tap as they touched. “You nerd,” you whispered.

He chuckled. “I’m not the one crying right now.”

“Friends and loved ones,” the celebrant announced. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of these two people. A couple who for all intents and purposes did everything in the wrong order. And yet, here they are, standing in front of all of you, declaring that they are each other’s chosen person.

“This is not a union that should be entered lightly. It is not made simply by a legal contract between two people, but by love, respect, trust, and support. A good marriage is not made by a wedding but by those simple quiet moments, like holding hands when no one is around, and laughing at the ridiculous joke you share.

“In that spirit, Clint’s brother Barney will be reading ‘How falling in love is like owning a dog’ by Taylor Mali.”

Barney stepped up and cleared his throat. “On cold winter nights, love is warm. It lies between you and lives and breathes and makes funny noises. Love wakes you up all hours of the night with its needs. It needs to be fed so it will grow and stay healthy. Love doesn’t like being left alone for long. But come home and love is always happy to see you. It may break a few things accidentally in its passion for life, but you can never be mad at love for long. Is love good all the time? No! No! Love can be bad. Bad, love, bad! Very bad love. Love makes messes. Love leaves you little surprises here and there. Love needs lots of cleaning up after. Sometimes you just want to get love fixed. Sometimes you want to roll up a piece of newspaper and swat love on the nose, not so much to cause pain, just to let love know, ‘Don’t you ever do that again!’ Sometimes love just wants to go out for a nice long walk. Because love loves exercise. It will run you around the block and leave you panting, breathless. Pull you in different directions at once, or wind itself around and around you until you’re all wound up and you cannot move. But love makes you meet people wherever you go. People who have nothing in common but love stop and talk to each other on the street. Throw things away and love will bring them back, again, and again, and again. But most of all, love needs love, lots of it. And in return, love loves you and never stops.”

He returned to his place in the crowd and you grinned at Clint.

“We have now reached the point in the ceremony where our couple shall read their vows to each other,” the celebrant announced.

“I take you to be my wife,” Clint said. “I promise that you will always be my home. The person who I return to. The person I prioritize. My best friend and my lover. You will always have my trust, my support, and my heart. But most of all, I promise that when I freak out about stuff, I’ll talk it out with you.”

You smiled and squeezed his hand. “I take you to be my husband. I promise that you will always be my home. The person who I return to. The person I prioritize. My best friend and my lover. You will always have my trust, my support, and my heart. But most of all, I promise that I make sure I tell you exactly how I’m feeling so neither of us has to freak out.”

“May I have the rings please?” The celebrant asked.

Natasha took the bear of Nattie who was sitting on the ground playing with a sunflower. She untied the rings and put the bear back on the ground next to Nattie again. Yours was white gold and shaped like an arrow on the top so it would point inward and your engagement ring would sit against your engagement ring. Clint’s was white gold with a band of yellow gold in the middle shaped like an arrow.

“Please repeat after me;” the celebrant said. “I give you this ring as a symbol of my unbroken connection to you.”

You each slid the rings into place repeating the words the celebrant said.

“Now by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss each other,” the celebrant announced.

After the ceremony, there was the official paperwork to sign and photos to take. Clint kept looking over wistfully at the waiters handing out little paddles with mini burgers and tiny glasses of beer and mini pizzas until Natasha went and got him some and he ate them while you were setting up for a group shot looking over the water. The band played soft jazz as the guests waited for you and Clint to join them.

When you were finally done you wandered down to the covered area where several long tables had been set up under the canopy. The tables were decorated with pumpkins and candles, and long dark purple runners and paper lanterns hung from the roof. A long table ran down the wall where the different food stations would end up being set up, and right in the middle was the huge stack of donuts glazed in different shades of purple.

Steve got up to the mic and tapped it a few times before clearing his throat. He was wearing a long blue coat and a Venetian-style mask in blue and silver. “If everyone would go to their seats,” he said. Everyone moved to their allocated spot, though no one took their seats. All the kids were together nearest the dance floor, though Doreen was holding Nattie. “Our backward couple have all taken a strange road to get here, but here they are. So if you’d all welcome for the very first time, Mr. and Ms. Barton.”

You and Clint walked down the middle of the tables to applause and the band started playing ‘Are you gonna be my girl’ by Jet. Clint began to dance around you doing the well-rehearsed jive moves you’d both been working on. When the riff changed he spun you into his arms, so your back was to his and the two of you moved together, your feet matching each other’s steps as you moved forward. Nattie toddled out onto the dance floor and Clint spun you again picking her up as you twirled, the butterfly wings that made up your skirt flare out. He grabbed your hand and started to run. You grabbed Natasha’s hand and she grabbed Wanda’s, and so on, and so on until most of the wedding guests were running in a chain to the music, around the tables, winding in and out of each other, up and down the garden beds. You couldn’t stop laughing and you soon became breathless and giddily happy seeing so many people joining in on the ridiculous but fun first dance you’d both chosen that drew in everyone important to you both.

When the music stopped you took your seats again. Steve returned to the microphone and looked around. The buffet tables were set up with a pizza station with several different options of pizza, a salad bar, and a few other options for people who weren’t huge fans of pizza. “It looks like the first courses are ready. Let’s not rush them though. Wedding party first, then we’ll start from this table -” he pointed to the one furthest from the buffet. “- and move in.”

You got up with Clint and got yourself a small selection of things before taking a seat. Nattie came and sat on Clint’s lap and stole pieces of pizza toppings off his pizza as you ate. “This is good, isn’t it?” you said. “Fun.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Everyone seems to be having a good time. And I’m eating pizza with my favorite people. Can’t get better than that.”

“Your favorite people?” you asked. “Which ones?”

“Well,” he teased. “I think Nattie here is pretty great.”

“That’s true,” you agreed.

“Natasha, Katie,” he added.

You giggled and stuck out your bottom lip.

“Steve is alright when he’s not busting my ass,” Clint continued.

“I like it when he busts your ass,” you teased.

He laughed and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. “You’re my favorite,” he said and kissed you.

There was a clinking on glass and you looked up to see Natasha standing. “I’ve been told by Mr. Bossy over there that now is the time for speeches,” she said, tilting her glass towards Steve. “Most of you have heard the term ‘Bartoned’. When you Barton, you’ve really messed things up. Often there’s an injury. Regularly it needs stitches or a cast. Clint Barton is such a human disaster that you just mention his name and people look around to see what’s gone wrong.” There was laughter in the crowd and Clint blushed a little.

“I have known Clint a long, long… long… time. I was in trouble when we met. My past isn’t exactly squeaky clean and, well, Clint had been sent to take care of me.” She chose her words carefully due to the large number of children that were at the wedding. “He did take care of me but not in the way he was meant to. He became my best friend. I’ve been by his side through good times and bad times. New friendships and broken marriages. Eating cold pizza on the couch and fighting off alien attacks,” she said and there was more laughter. “For quite a while Clint and Tony had been competing for the attention of a certain EMT that kept showing up at incidents in the city. Clint … for god knows what reason … won the battle for the fair lady’s heart. Well, just like Clint, he Bartoned it good. Instead of the casual friends-with-benefits arrangement, he was hoping for they ended up neither as friends nor there being any benefits and there was a baby on the way. But as well as being a complete disaster, Clint has a way of not just seeing the best in people, but drawing out the best in people. He’s still friends with all his exes. He collects random strays. There was no way he would ever let that situation stay broken. So maybe we’ve been using the term Bartoned wrong this whole time. Maybe Bartoning isn’t messing up bad. It’s having something be messed up but seeing the good in it and making it something good. Because here we have a situation right now where Clint has gotten a crush on someone, knocked them up, pushed them away, and yet still has managed to have one of the most wonderful relationships I’ve ever seen. She has been Bartoned in every sense of the term. The brand new Ms. Barton. I am so, so happy for them. I love them both so much and I’m so happy they worked this out and realized how good they are for each other. So I ask you all now, to raise your glasses to them at the start of this new chapter of their lives and to toast to getting Bartoned.”

You looked at Clint smiling and he leaned in and kissed you just as everyone held up their glasses and cheered; ‘Bartoned’.

~ END ~

Yours was happening the night before the wedding and you were a little worried you might end up regretting it. Kari came and got you in the midmorning and you kissed Clint and Nattie goodbye and patted the dog before being led out to a limo that already held Natasha and Wanda.

A glass of champagne was pressed into your hand before you even had your seatbelt on. “So what’s the plan?” you asked.

“We’re going to have lunch at the Russian Tea Room. Then we’re going to go to a spa. Then we’re going to a Tiki Bar for dinner, drinks, dancing, and karaoke,” Kari explained.

“You trying to wipe me out for tomorrow?” you asked.

“Sure am,” Kari teased. “I wanna look better than you do.”

You laughed. “You know there’s a flaw in your plan, Kari? You’re gonna be there too.”

“Damnit,” she joked and took a long drink of her own glass of champagne.

“Who’s looking after the boys?” you asked.

“Steve and Bucky,” Wanda explained. “With Sam on rescue duty if things get too much for them.”

“That’s good. I’m sure they’ll do fine though,” you said. “Hope that Doreen can handle all of them tomorrow.”

You had hired Doreen back for the night at almost triple her usual rate to watch all the kids. They’d be there at the wedding anyway, but it meant the parents got a little bit of time off and she’d take them all to a hotel nearby so they could get some sleep once they were bored of it.

“We won’t be far away if she gets in trouble,” Kari said. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. She is trained for it.”

“Besides, Emilio has that thing where he thinks he’s responsible for his siblings’ wellbeing,” Wanda explained. “He’ll be watching Cruz and Isabella like a hawk.”

“Okay, enough parenting talk,” Kari announced. “Guess what?”

“What?” you asked.

“You’re getting married tomorrow!” She cheered.

Everyone let out a ‘Woo!’ and clinked their glasses together.

The day seemed to degenerate as you went along. Lunch at the Russian Tea Room included family members and your closest friends. It was a classy affair with everyone on their best behavior in the iconic New York restaurant. Natasha complained that the beluga caviar wasn’t actually beluga caviar but generally, everyone enjoyed themselves.

You then continued to the spa with around half of the people who were at your lunch. It was very relaxing but Kari and Natasha kept messing with you so you spent half the time in hysterical laughter while being scolded for cracking mud masks or not relaxing properly.

Your group then went to Tiki Chick where everything quickly devolved. A lot more people met you there, including old school friends, family, people from your paramedic days, and people you’d met through the Avengers, the entire group filling the bar. The whole venue had been booked out and the tables soon became full of cocktails both shared and individual in novelty cups and glasses. You started by sharing a huge rum punch with Wanda, Kari, and Natasha while you attempted to line your stomach with a burger so you didn’t get completely drunk.

It didn’t work very well. Half an hour in and you were already well on your way to drunk and when the karaoke machine was wheeled out, you were drunk enough that you wanted to be the first one to sing. Half a dozen bad renditions of 80s rock ballads later and the stripper showed up.

You had thought that getting a stripper would be a little tacky and you wouldn’t be able to get into it that much. It wasn’t like you had a lack of extremely hot men in your life.

You were wrong.

Kari had hired a Clint look alike and he came in wearing what looked like a purple gladiator skirt you squealed with excitement and took your seat in the middle of the room. ‘Stripper’ was a generous term. The guy was mostly naked when he got there, but he oiled himself up and gyrated on your lap, making you run your hands over his chest and butt as he danced. When he did strip off what clothing he did have, he had you lie on the ground while he did push-ups over you, much to the delight of every other woman there.

It was one in the morning by the time you were all kicked out and you were glad you were having an afternoon ceremony.

“Alright, let’s get you to your hotel room, Mrs. Barton,” Kari said as you stumbled into the back of the limousine.

“No…” you slurred. “I wanna go home.”

“Honey,” Wanda said gently. “You have a hair appointment and ten in Brooklyn and it’s over a two-hour drive from here to home even when there’s no traffic.”

“Don’t care,” you mumbled. “You’re going home aren’t you?”

“Yes,” she agreed. “But you have your hotel room.”

“Wanna go home!” you shouted.

“Oh my god,” Kari groaned and ran her hands down her face.

Natasha tapped on the partition that divided you from the driver. “Change of plans, we’re all going back to the compound.”

“Thank you, Tasha,” you mumbled, curling up against her side.

“You’re welcome, zoloste,” she said, wrapping an arm around you. “Try and get a little sleep in on the car ride.”

“And just so you know,” Kari said. “If I only get 3 hours of sleep because of you, Imma kill you.”

You closed your eyes and gave her the finger making Natasha laugh loudly.

Thankfully, all four of you did get some sleep on the limo ride home. By the time the car was pulling up outside your house, you’d gotten two solid sleep cycles in. You had sobered up a bit, but you were definitely still feeling it when you stumbled inside.

You tripped over the dog as you let yourself inside making him yelp and you crouched down guiltily and patted him. “I’m so sorry, puppy. I didn’t see you. And to be honest, I’m kind of drunk.”

He seemed to forgive you, licking your face excitedly as he wagged his tail. Clint appeared at the top of the stairs and looked down at you confused. “Honey?” he said, softly. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the hotel?”

You stood and wound your way to him. “Wanted to see you,” you said when you reached him, tapping him on the chest.

“Isn’t it bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding?” he asked, wrapping an arm around your waist and supporting you as the two of you made your way upstairs.

“Fuck that,” you said. “I like it better when you’re in my bed.”

He chuckled softly. “Might want to modulate your voice there, babe,” he teased. “Gonna wake Nattie up.”

He got you through the door and started to help you out of your clothes. “Did you have fun?”

“Mm-hmm…” you hummed as you flopped back on the bed and let Clint strip you off. “The stripper kinda looked like you. But not as hot.”

“That’s nice to hear,” he teased. “Come on, get into bed. It’s very late.”

“Nuh-uh,” you said grabbing the hem of his pajama shirt. “I want your penis inside my vagina.”

Clint laughed so hard he snorted. “That’s the best futzing dirty talk I’ve ever heard.”

“Please, Clint,” you whined. “I want you so fucking bad. And it’s my wedding day.”

Clint couldn’t stop laughing and he leaned down and kissed your temple. “How can I say no to that?”

You grinned and yanked down his pajama pants and nosed up his cock, placing small kisses and kitten-licking up his shaft as it hardened under your attention. You pulled it into your mouth, still semi-erect, and began to suck. Clint groaned and bunched his hands in your hair, his cock hardening fully in your mouth. You slowly bobbed your head up and down his shaft as you massaged and tugged on his balls. He let his head fall back and his hand slipped between your legs and he began to finger your clit, matching the slow pace you were setting as you sucked up and down his shaft.

As you moved faster up and down, his finger circled faster over your clit. You moaned around his cock and dropped your head down, your lips pressing flush against his groin as you deepthroated him.

“Fuck,” he groaned and patted your thigh. “If you want my penis to go into your vagina tonight you might wanna get up on the bed.”

You scrambled back up on the bed and Clint crawled up after you. He fished around in the side table as you wrapped your arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”

“Getting a condom,” he said, pulling one out of the drawer.

“No,” you complained and whacked his hand, sending the packet flying across the room.

Clint started laughing and looked down at you. “What the hell? You’re not on birth control anymore, remember?”

You looked up at him and cradled his jaw. “I said it had to wait until the wedding,” you said. “The wedding is today.”

Clint blinked down at you as he processed the words you just said. “You wanna start trying right now?”

You nodded. “Don’t you?”

In way of answer, he brought his lips to yours and kissed you deeply, his lips slowly moving with yours. You moaned into his lips and brought your knees up and with a snap of his hips, he was inside you.

His hips rolled, pushing himself deeper into you as the base of his cock rubbed against your clit. His lips never left yours, and you began to get light-headed as your lips turned numb.

As your head became fuzzy, the rest of your body began to prickle and buzz. Each thrust of Clint’s body against yours sent current after current through you. You dug your fingers into his back and moaned into his lips. Your cunt ached and dripped around his cock as he penetrated you again and again.

You fell apart, your body seizing as you came, crying out into his lips. Clint broke the kiss looking down into your eyes and picking up his pace. You groaned and bucked your hips with him. “Fuck, Clint,” you moaned. “Give it to me.”

He pulled your leg up and you began to rub your clit. Your cunt clenched suddenly and another orgasm hit. You clenched your teeth and cried out arching your back as it washed through you. His hips jerked into you and he released, groaning as his cock pulsed and filled you with come.

“Fuck…” he sighed and held himself inside you as his cock stilled.

“Mm… that’s exactly what I wanted all night,” you hummed.

“All night you were thinking about fucking me?” Clint teased. “I don’t believe that.”

“Some of it,” you giggled.

Clint slipped out of you and picked up your hips, shaking you gently. “Get in there, little guys. Do your work.”

You laughed and kicked your legs. “Clint!”

He chuckled and lay down beside you, pulling you in his arms. “Alright, go to sleep,” he said. “I’m getting married tomorrow.”

“Yeah?” you asked. “Who’s the lucky lady?”

“Just some random,” he teased. “Got her knocked up and now I gotta make an honest woman of her.”

You giggled and nuzzled into him. It wasn’t too long before sleep came for you.

Things in the compound had settled in completely and now the tower had reverted to being for Stark Industry-related business. The compound was much bigger, with more staff which meant a few changes. First was; there were more on-site facilities available to the staff because there was a lot more staff. More staff meant the Avengers had a little more time at home. They were all team leaders now delegating to their seconds for things like training recruits and sending their teams on missions. It was only the really big things that would have an actual card-carrying Avenger going along and thankfully none of those had popped up in months.

The medbay was much larger and there were specialists for more things. So now it was just a place people could go for all their medical needs. Whether that be the emergency patch-ups and physicals they used to provide or something like gynecology or obstetrics.

There was also now a childcare center on-site. It was in the office building and allowed staff to come in and breastfeed if needed. It was very handy for you and Clint because Doreen hadn’t been able to move out with you permanently due to college and while she’d come and lived with you for the transition, you were now nanny free and the childcare center picked up where Doreen left off.

There weren’t many kids in it yet, though you thought that was going to change. Wanda and Kari had applied to adopt in Sokovia and there were new recruits, office workers, lawyers, and medical staff. Some already had kids and some were thinking about it. Right now though there was Nattie, a pair of three-year-old twins who were the kids of someone in the psych department, and three kids who were all two but at staggered ends of the age whose parents were all agents. A four-year-old would be joining the group in a couple of weeks though because today was the day that Steve and Bucky brought their foster-to-adopt kids home.

They’d been keeping things a little close to their chests. Clint had hypothesized it was because they were worried something would happen and they wouldn’t get to bring them home. In the same way, people didn’t say they were pregnant until 12 weeks in case they ended up losing it.

You did know there were three of them. That they were all half-siblings and the age gaps were large. The oldest was fourteen, then eight, and the youngest was four. Aside from that, no one knew everything, so on the day they were bringing them home everyone was somehow just randomly busy in the front yard in the hopes of catching sight of them.

It was funny how many people’s front gardens suddenly needed tending. Even Pepper was inexplicably tending the Goji berry bush in the front garden of Tony’s house.

You, Clint, and Nattie were playing with various outdoor toys. She’d been chasing a ball around for about 20 minutes and you were just setting up her play table with paints and paper so she could finger paint. She ran over to you with Clint in hot pursuit and slammed into your leg. “Wassat?” she said, banging her hands on the paper.

“Did she just say ‘what’s that’?” Clint asked as he pulled up behind her.

You blinked down at your eleven-month-old in surprise. She’d been saying things that vaguely resembled ‘mama’ and ‘dada’ for a while but even though she’d use them to get your attention, they were never quite right and she’d mix them up or use them on other people too. This was the first thing that actually sounded like words that meant something other than ‘Hey look at me’.

“It’s paper,” you said crouching down with her.

Nattie picked up the tube of red paint. “Wassat?”

There was a tug at your heart as Clint’s face broke out in a large smile. He looked so completely happy at that moment that you didn’t think there was a thing in the world that would ruin that mood right now. “That’s the red paint,” he said and looked up at you excitedly. “She’s talking.”

“She’s our smart little bean,” you said, running your fingers through Clint’s hair.

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to your forehead. Nattie pushed in close like she was trying to get in on the kiss too, and Clint started laughing and kissed her forehead too. “You’re a pretty clever kid, Nattie,” he said.

“Bwee?” Nattie said, looking up at him. Her attention was soon grabbed by the dark blue minivan that was traveling down the road. “Wassat?”

“That’s a minivan. Your uncle Bucky and Steve are both huge nerds,” Clint said, picking her up and carrying her to the fence line. Everyone else had moved to their fences too and were watching closely as Steve and Bucky pulled up the car.

“Man, those kids are gonna feel super weird with all of us watching them,” you said.

“Yeah,” he agreed and waved at everyone to get back. They seemed to get the drift quickly and by the time the kids were getting out of the car everyone had gone back to their gardening. Clint put Nattie down at the table and you squirted some different colors of paint onto a plate. She immediately slammed her hands into the paint and started to rub it over the paper as she babbled to herself. Natasha appeared at the front gate and let herself in.

“Two boys and a girl. The girl is the middle one,” Natasha said, crouching down at the table with Nattie. “This is a lovely painting, Natyusha.”

“How’d everyone look?” Clint asked as Nattie babbled and rubbed her hands quickly back and forward in the paint, so the colors smeared all over the paper.

“The oldest looked quite wary but also like he was trying very hard to be on his best behavior. Middle looked scared but very excited. Steve was holding the youngest and he was hiding his face in Steve’s chest. Steve looked like he was trying to be on his best behavior and nervous as hell. Bucky looked scared and a little excited.” Natasha explained as she ran her fingers through the paint too.

“Kind of exciting isn’t it?” you asked.

“So exciting,” Natasha agreed as she painted a butterfly with her finger.

“Wassat?” Nattie asked, putting her painted hand right on the butterfly.

Natasha looked from Nattie to you and back to Nattie again. “It was a butterfly, Natyusha,” she looked back up at you again. “She talks now?”

“Just now!” Clint said excitedly. “She literally said that just before the car rolled up.”

“Oh my goodness, what a clever little thing you are,” Natasha said, putting a dot of paint on Nattie’s nose. Nattie started giggling and clapping her hands.

“I don’t know, but I think this picture is done. Shall we use fresh paper?” you asked as you pulled the sheet away, revealing another under it.

Natasha and Nattie went back to finger painting together, this time Nattie got a lot more paint all over herself. As the paper got closer to being filled Bucky, Steve, and the three kids approached the house.

“Hi there,” Steve said in an overly friendly tone as you and Clint went over to the gate to meet them. “The kids wanted to take a look around so we’re just taking a walk.” He then introduced you and Clint to the kids. The oldest was Emilio, then Isabella, and the youngest was Cruz. “What’s going on here?”

“We’re just doing some finger painting,” Clint said. Cruz picked his head up from where he was still hiding, clinging to Steve.

“You want to do some painting too, buddy?” Steve asked, rubbing the little boy’s back in soothing circles.

“Dey’s so messy,” he said in a fearful voice.

“That’s okay,” Bucky said gently. “You’re allowed to get messy if you like.”

“That’s right, Cruz,” Emilio assured him. “See even the grown-ups are messy.”

Cruz looked around at his siblings like he was trying to work out if it was some kind of trap. When he seemed satisfied he nodded his head and Steve carried him in and put him down. The little boy tentatively approached the table. Isabella came and took his hand, leading him to it. Natasha took the top piece of paper away revealing another fresh sheet under it and topped up the paints and Nattie straight away began to finger paint as she babbled baby talk in Cruz’s direction.

It took a little while but eventually, Cruz dipped his hands in the paint and began to paint too, though Steve ended up sitting on the ground next to him and wiping his hands with baby wipes every ten seconds to stop the little boy from panicking.

The whole time Nattie just babbled away like she was having a fantastic conversation with them. It seemed to make Isabella relax and soon she was talking to your daughter like they were having a proper conversation, saying ‘Oh, that’s very interesting’ and ‘I didn’t know that’ and other similar things.

Clint circled his arm around your waist as he watched them and leaned in and kissed your cheek. “This is making me really want another one,” he whispered. “You sure you don’t wanna try yet?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” you scolded, nudging him. “I want to fit into my dress. But I’ll tell you what.” He looked at you with hopeful, expectant eyes and you leaned in close to him. “I’ll get my IUD out before the wedding and we can start trying on the honeymoon.”

“Yes!” Clint cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

You laughed and nudged him and he stumbled a little away from you.

“Hey, Clint,” Bucky said, approaching you both with Emilio. “Wanna go in and play some Mario Kart while the little ones are painting?”

“Yeah, sure,” Clint said, giving your ass a tap before heading towards the house. “Follow me.”

Bucky and Emilio caught up beside him, and Bucky clapped Clint on the shoulder. “I was telling Emilio that you spent a lot of time in the Foster system.”

“Oh yeah,” Clint said, looking back at the boy. “I can’t say it’s a great story but I can tell you it if you want.”

They disappeared inside and you looked down at Steve. “You want to stay for lunch?”

He smiled up at you sheepishly as he wiped Cruz’s hands again. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Of course not,” you said. “I’ll go get it started. You okay with Nattie, Nat?”

“Of course,” she replied.

You ruffled Steve’s hair as you passed him on your way inside and went to prepare lunch for the new members of the extended Avengers family.

You weren’t coping that well either. You were only seeing Clint for brief periods and with Nattie so distraught you were only getting a few hours of sleep a night. By the time Kari and Wanda returned looking tanned and relaxed, you could have kissed them both on the mouth, you were so happy to see them.

“Am I boring you?” Kari asked as your eyes fell closed while she was telling you all about their little lakeside chalet in the Swiss Alps. Nattie was sitting in her lap playing with the cowbell they’d bought back for her.

Your eyes snapped open and you blinked at her. “I’m so sorry. I was listening. You just have no idea how busy it’s been since you’ve been gone.”

“I mean, I think I have some idea, you were on maternity leave for a long ass time,” Kari said, pushing you.

“Yeah, but you didn’t have a baby and Wanda was still working so they didn’t need to have five extra people there just to make up for her not being there,” you complained. “I’ve seen Clint for maybe five hours in the past two weeks and that’s more than the average hours I’ve been sleeping in a day.”

“Aww, you poor baby,” Kari said and you weren’t sure if she was being sarcastic or not.

“She was being sarcastic,” Wanda confirmed. You turned and looked at Kari, in an attempt at giving her a rather sleepy death glare but she just broke down laughing.

“I’m really glad you both had a nice time though. And I’m extra really glad you’re home because I need to sleep for a week,” you said.

Nattie wriggled off Kari’s lap and used the couch and then the coffee table to move over to Wanda, ringing her bell loudly as she moved. “I hope you got one of those for Natasha,” you joked as Nattie climbed up into Wanda’s lap.

Wanda started giggling. “Natasha moves like a cat. The bell wouldn’t even ring.”

“Yeah, she’d just use it to clock Clint on the back of the head,” Kari laughed. “Just ‘hey, bird -’ Clang!!”

You started laughing too and Nattie joined in, bouncing on Wanda’s lap and giggling though she had no idea what anyone else was laughing at.

“Oh my god, she’s so cute,” Wanda said, picking her up and raising her above her head. “Aren’t you the cutest baby?”

Nattie giggled and started babbling as she swung her bell around.

“You look pretty good with her, Wanda,” you said, playfully.

“Don’t go giving her ideas. She’s already super clucky,” Kari scolded.

“Aww come on, I don’t wanna be the only one in the group with kids,” you whined.

“So go bother Bucky and Steve,” Kari said. “We’ve said we’re going to take time to just be a couple alone for a while.”

“Lucky for some,” you teased.

“Oh no,” Wanda said, covering Nattie’s ears. “Don’t listen to her, little one.”

You rolled your eyes and stuck out your tongue. “She knows I love her more than anyone else on the planet.”

Wanda giggled and kissed Nattie’s chubby cheek. “Well, I’ve been looking into adoption anyway. I think I want to try and adopt from Sokovia.”

“Wanda?” Kari yelped. “What?”

You started laughing as Wanda waved off your best friend. “I’m looking into it. And it takes forever anyway. So it’s worth looking into now.”

Kari chuckled and shook her head. “What can I do? You bat those eyelashes and I’m putty in your hands.”

Wanda giggled. “Yeah, you love me.”

“So where is Clint anyway?” Kari asked as Wanda went back to playing with Nattie.

“West Coast with Katie. I think they’re coming back today, but who the hell knows?” you answered, pulling your feet up under you.

“I’m guessing you haven’t had time to choose dresses then…” Kari said and you started laughing a slightly exhausted and hysterical laugh as you remembered hassling her about picking a dress.

“Well, actually,” you said and pulled out a tablet and switched it on opening up your photos. “I found some things online. I contacted the designer and we have a meeting with them.” You flicked over to a photo of the dress you planned for the wedding party that consisted entirely of women. “You know we’re doing a masquerade theme right?”

“Yes,” Kari said moving closer to you.

“Well, this is what you, Wanda, Kate, and Nat are wearing,” you said and showed her a photo of a gown. It was an asymmetrical cut, with a sheer ombre blue fabric that started as almost green at the hem and branded up into a dark blue at the bust. Under it was a much darker blue satin with jewels sewn into it to give the look of a night sky. Sewn into the hem of the overlay, up to the join at the waist were peacock feathers. There was a gold chain belt with a pendant in the middle that resembled a peacock feather and gold chains that acted as sleeves.

“Wow,” Kari said in awe. “That is something else. Come look, Wanda.”

Wanda got up with Nattie in her arms and came and sat close to Kari as she showed her the screen. “I get to wear that?” she said, looking at you.

“You sure do,” you agreed. “And I thought you could each have a different peacock-themed mask.”

“That is so beautiful and such a good idea for you two,” Kari said.

“Oh yeah, we’ve been quite busy. You’re all gonna come to this wedding and go, oh yeah that’s those two idiots to a tee,” you said.

“What about your dress?” Wanda asked.

You took the tablet back and flicked to another picture hiding the screen from them. “Get ready for it.”

“Come on, we’ve all seen a dress before,” Kari snarked.

“Oh yeah?” You said. “Well, have you seen this?”

You turned the screen to show them and Wanda audibly gasped before snatching the tablet from you. “Oh my god!” she squealed.

The dress was ball gown style with a long train and an open back and looked to be made out of layer upon layer of blue butterfly wings, from the bust down to the end of the train. Each wing was paired with another and intricately detailed with both black embroidery and beading.

“Holy shit!” Kari cursed. “You got your butterfly dress.”

“I got my goddamned butterfly dress,” you agreed.

“It is so beautiful,” Wanda said. “It must cost a fortune.”

“It’s not cheap, but not as bad as you think. The designer isn’t a big name,” you said. “But come on, can you picture me in anything else now?”

“No, I can not,” Wanda agreed. “Oh wow, you’re going to look like a fairy.”

“And I’ll have a butterfly-themed mask. And Nattie will be in purple and gold too, with I’m not sure, maybe some kind of bird theme mask. Match her dad,” you said.

The handle on the front door clicked and you took the tablet off Wanda and quickly shut everything down. Clint slumped inside followed by Kate, both of them looking exhausted and a little worse for wear. Nattie immediately reached out for Clint babbling ‘da-da-da-da-da-da-da’ over and over. Not quite a word yet, but the proto sounds when she’d actually call him dada.

Kate collapsed into the recliner that Wanda had been occupying as Clint picked up Nattie and kissed your cheek. “You’re back earlier than I thought,” you said, running your fingers through his hair as he stood up.

“Thank god,” Kate said as Clint flopped down in the other recliner. “Super glad to see you back, Wanda. Might be able to have a day off again.”

Wanda laughed. “It’s nice to feel needed.”

“I swear to god, it was like every single bad guy on the planet heard you were on vacation and tried to take over the world at once,” she complained. “I have blisters everywhere.”

Wanda giggled. “I bet now we’re back there’ll be a huge quiet spell and none of us will need to go anywhere.”

“Please, please, please, speak that into existence,” you groaned. “I want family time and the only thing to worry about is which circuit Steve plans to put us through.”

“Don’t forget, we’re all moving out to that new compound too,” Kari added. “The break will be good for that too.”

“Oh yeah, I wonder how Tony is going with that. I heard he’s got like a weird little village away from the work buildings,” you said. “That will be really cute. Especially when you guys adopt.”

“Shush,” Kari scolded. “Stop encouraging her.”

“It’s too late,” Wanda said, cuddling into her side. “I’m already there.”

“That’ll be good won’t it, Clint?” You said looking over at your fiancé. You might as well have been talking to yourself though. Clint was deep asleep with his mouth open and Nattie was snoring on his chest.

You came out to find Clint with Nattie in her high chair, feeding her a bowl of baby cereal with pureed apple mixed in. You had the feeling that she was wearing more than she’d eaten. She’d only been eating solid foods for a few days and she still wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“Is Doreen not here yet?” you asked, putting the most recent of your expressed milk into the fridge.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be here,” Clint said as he made an exaggerated movement with the spoon trying to get Nattie’s attention but only managing to bang the spoon into her pursed lips. “Nattie… why won’t you eat, baby?”

“Maybe if it was pizza,” you teased, putting your hand on his and using the spoon to tickle her bottom lip. She opened her mouth and he put the spoon in her mouth. “Maybe I should just stay home.”

“You can if you want to,” Clint said. “But you were excited to go back to work.”

“I love my job. And I miss doing it. And I worry that the longer I’m away from it the less likely I’m gonna be able to get back into it because I will just be too old and out of shape to keep up. But I don’t want to miss anything. She’s so close to crawling. I don’t want to come home and her been doing it all day without me to see.”

Clint leaned over and kissed your shoulder. “Me every day I leave for work,” he said.

“How do you do it?” you asked.

“I don’t exactly have any choice,” Clint said. “But you do. What do you want to do?”

You whined and poured yourself a coffee. “I don’t know. I better go I guess.”

“Then you probably don’t have time for that,” Clint scolded. “We’re supposed to be there.”

“But Doreen isn’t here yet. I’ll drink it until she gets here.”

Like she’d been summoned there was a rapped knocking on the door. Nattie looked up. “Bweh?” she said, dribbling her porridge down her chin.

You went to the door drinking the coffee in large, mouth-burning gulps on the way.

“I’m so sorry,” Doreen said, bursting through the door. “There was an incident on the subway and it delayed everything by half an hour.”

“That’s okay,” Clint said getting up. “You right to take over?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Doreen said coming straight over and taking the spoon off him. “Say, bye-bye mommy and daddy. Have a good day saving the world.”

“Bah baba, bwah ba bah,” Nattie said, waving her arms around. You and Clint each kissed Nattie goodbye and headed straight to the elevator.

“We can afford it if you went stay-at-home,” Clint said as the elevator traveled down to the gym.

You shook your head a little. “It’s not about the money,” you said. “I just want everything at once.”

The doors opened onto the gym. Everyone had already started their laps and you and Clint started stretching as you approached the group. “I could knock you up again. Then you’d just automatically get another fifteen months off without having to think about it.”

You laughed and elbowed him. “I am not sure that’s the answer I’m looking for.”

“No? You don’t want to have a little brother or sister for Natasha?” Clint asked.

“I never said that,” you said. “I know I don’t want to be pregnant when I’m getting married.”

“That’s like a year away. Get pregnant now and you won’t be,” Clint argued.

You turned and looked at him with your brow furrowed. “Just so we’re on the same page here. Do you actually want to start trying for another baby, right now?”

“Oh yes. Do that,” Natasha said as she jogged up behind you. “Two more at least.”

“What in the hell?” you said, jumping a little. “She’s still breastfeeding.”

Clint shrugged. “I mean. I don’t know. I guess… I definitely want more.”

“More right now?” you asked. “With her still waking up two times a night.”

“I guess not right this second now. And you know, it’s your body. You gotta be ready,” he reasoned. “But I gotta say - if you had another accident right now. I wouldn’t be unhappy about it.”

“Me either,” Natasha added.

“Nat!” you yelped. “Don’t encourage him.”

“Fine,” she huffed. “Welcome back by the way. Was leaving her hard? Is that why you’re late and talking about having more kids?”

“Yes. And yes,” you answered. “Though we’re technically late because Doreen was late.”

“She knows to bring her down to the common room at lunch, right?” Natasha asked.

“Yes, Nat. She’ll be there,” you confirmed.

“Good. Well, carry on with the baby talk. I’ll be quiet,” Natasha teased.

“I’m not sure there will be any more talk right now. I’m not agreeing to go through that again on a whim because I wasn’t sure I was ready to come back today,” you said with a shrug.

“You don’t think you’re ready to be back?” Steve said, slowing down his pace beside you so he was doing a gentle jog. “We can extend your maternity leave. It would have to be without pay though.”

“No, no,” you said, cursing the lack of privacy you were getting for this conversation. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I do want to work. I love my work. I just… it was hard leaving her.”

“We’ll make sure you and Clint aren’t away for anything at the same time,” Steve assured you. “But if you really aren’t ready, come and talk to me.”

“I will,” you agreed. “Promise.”

He patted your shoulder. “It’s good to see you back. Don’t overexert yourself. Best to just ease into it.”

“That’s what she said,” Clint teased and Steve laughed and took off again. “Do you want to have more kids?”

You thought about it for a moment. “Yeah. I always saw myself with a couple. But … not right now. I want to actually be ready. To get the wedding out of the way. To have actually worked in the job for a little while. To be getting uninterrupted sleep at night. I still don’t even feel like I’ve recovered fully from having her. She needs me so much in a physical way still, my body doesn’t feel like mine yet.”

Clint rubbed your back without breaking his stride. “Alright. I was joking when I said it,” he assured you. “Just the ‘hell no’ freaked me out a little.”

“Yeah, sorry. That’s how I felt when you suggested it,” you agreed.

Natasha laughed. “You couple of idiots,” she teased. “Why are you so bad at normal relationship things?”

“Yeah, like you can talk, Nat,” Clint argued.

You had been out of training so long now, it was like you were starting from the beginning again. By the time you’d done the run and the circuits, every part of you hurt and you were seriously questioning why you’d come back again.

“Dead,” you whined as the elevator opened into the common room. “I’m dead. You killed me. How does Tony get out of training again?”

“I just don’t show up,” Tony said. He was sitting on the ground with Nattie. She was sitting up opposite him and they were pushing a ball between them. Doreen was at the table eating lunch.

“Yes, and unfortunately I can’t fire Tony. That’s not the case for you,” Steve said seriously.

“Rude,” you huffed.

As you came around the couch Nattie’s face lit up and she clapped her hands. “Bwie?”

“Hey, baby. Did you miss me?” you asked as you went to the table.

She fell forward, landing on her hands, and started bouncing on the spot making a funny panting sound.

“Hang on, peanut. Let your mom get her own lunch first,” Clint said, chuckling.

She completely ignored him and kept bouncing on the spot watching you.

“How was she this morning?” you asked Doreen as you filled your plate.

“She was fine until she realized neither of you was coming back. Then she had a bit of a meltdown until she passed out. Then she woke up and she cried when it was just me, but she got over it. Especially when we came down here and she saw her uncle Tony,” Doreen explained.

“Oh no,” you frowned. “I hate this.”

Clint came up behind you and kissed your shoulder. “She just has to get used to the new routine. It’ll be okay.”

You huffed and went back to plating up your lunch.

“Woah! Look at you go!” Tony gasped and the whole group turned. Nattie was crawling over to you at top speed making a funny little grunting sound. She reached you before you could even react and pulled herself up on your pants’ legs.

“Oh my god!” you squealed. “Did you get here all on your own?”

“Ba bah ba bwah,” she said as she reached up at you.

You picked her up and blew a raspberry on her cheek.

Clint reached out for her. “Give her here and go sit down. Maybe she’ll do it again.”

You handed her over and she started whining and reaching for you immediately. You went and took a seat on the recliner and Clint put her on the ground again. For a moment she did that same bouncing on all fours thing, before she took off, charging towards you. “Look at that,” Steve said. “Inherited her dad’s muscle memory.”

You picked her up when she got to you and she started trying to pull your shirt down and biting at your breast.

“She’s inherited her dad’s obsession with boobs too,” Natasha joked.

“She’ll be falling into the nearest dumpster any day now,” Kari added.

“Was she doing this earlier, Doreen?” Clint asked.

Doreen shook her head as you started breastfeeding Nattie. “Food motivated, it looks like.”

You chuckled and tickled her cheek relaxing into the chair. Being back at work wasn’t going to be easy, but seeing her crawl now, you knew you could do it.

So Doreen had taken Nattie to the Saturday morning baby group and you’d gotten back into bed. You thought you might just rest, maybe scroll on your phone, and post those baby photos to Facebook you hadn’t posted yet. Instead, you’d fallen back to sleep with your phone in your hand.

You rolled into the body that was now lying beside you and he closed his arms around you. He smelled of sweat, and his shirt was slightly damp with it. “Eww…” you complained and he chuckled lightly.

“You’re the one that rolled into me,” he said.

“Doreen still out?” you asked.

“Mm-hmm…” he hummed, thought a nap looked pretty good.

You kissed his neck and pulled yourself closer to him. “How married to that idea are you?”

He laughed louder and looked down at you. “Depends on what you’re offering there, babe.”

You rolled over so you were straddling him and you pushed his shirt up over his head. “I think you can probably guess,” you purred. When his t-shirt was off, you twisted it around one hand, so he was trapped in the sleeve. You wound the fabric around one of the bars in the headboard and caught his other hand in it so his arms were pinned above his head.

Clint groaned and flexed his muscles. You ran your hands down his arms, tracing your fingertips over the veins and tendons in his forearms and traveling over the hills and valleys of his biceps. Your eyes ran over his chest. He was a map of scars and you leaned down and began to kiss them one by one. The one very human member of the Avengers had the body to prove how human he was.

Clint hummed and rolled his spine. “I don’t know what the hell is going on right now, but I’m into  it.”

“You don’t know?” you asked as you ghosted your lips down the large scar above his hip. “No one ever taught you about the birds and the bees?”

He hummed and closed his eyes, lifting his hips. You took the opportunity to pull down his sweats and throw them aside. “That’s when the birds have sex with the bees, isn’t it?”

You stifled a laugh. “Uh-huh. And you’re a bird…”

“So you’re gonna let a bee fuck me?” he asked.

You snorted as you attempted not to laugh. “You are into some weird shit, Clint.”

He started laughing. “You’re the one bringing up the interspecies breeding.”

You leaned down and ran your flattened tongue up his cock. “Shush you, or I’ll gag you.”

He hummed and squirmed on the bed. “Yes, ma’am.”

You slowly licked over his cock and nipped at the sensitive spot under the head. He hummed and relaxed while his cock twitched and jumped at the attention you were giving it. You swirled your tongue over the head of his cock and sat up and went to grab the lube from the side table.

“Aw, no. What happened?” Clint whined.

“Only good things, honey,” you promised as your hand closed around the tube.

When he saw what you were grabbing his face lit up. “Oh my god. Is it my birthday?”

“Don’t get too excited. It’s just my fingers,” you said as you coated two of your fingers in lube.

“Mmm… there’s no just there,” he hummed, laying back and lifting his hips so you could access him better.

You licked over the head of his cock and began to suck on it as you teased your slicked fingers over his asshole. He moaned softly and his toes curled, a look of happy contentment on his face. You pushed one inside him, slowly at first, letting him relax and take it. It didn’t take much. His ring muscle gave easily as he relaxed and moaned loudly, jerking his hips up and pushing his cock deeper into your mouth.

You relaxed your jaw, letting him thrust into your mouth as you moved your finger in and out of his ass. He moaned loudly and his cock leaked on your tongue - the thick salty fluid coating your tastebuds.

A second finger was eased in beside the first and you sunk them in deep, seeking out the smooth surface of his prostate and stroking your fingers over it.

“Jesus, fuck!” Clint cried out, bucking up and jerking on his bonds. You moaned around his cock and started bobbing your head up and down, hollowing your cheeks and curling your tongue. His hands balled into fists and his muscles tightened. “Babe. Babe. Honey,” Clint babbled. “I’m gonna come.”

You tapped his thigh and stroked your fingers over his p-spot letting him know that’s what you wanted. That he could let go anytime he liked. He groaned and his hips started to snap up under you, and with a jerk of his hips he came down your throat, hot salty semen filling your mouth

You hummed and swallowed it, continuing to suck until his cock stilled in your mouth. You pulled your fingers out and sat up, grabbing a baby wipe and cleaning off your hands as you moved up and sat straddling Clint’s waist.

“Let me up,” Clint said, looking up at you.

“Mmm… why would I want to do that?” you teased.

“Because,” Clint said, flexing his arms. “I want to return the favor.”

You smirked down at him and untwisted the t-shirt from around his wrists. As soon as he was free, he wrapped his arms around you and rolled you over, kissing you hungrily. He ground down against you and slowly, but passionately he began kissing his way down your body. It wasn’t a soft teasing of his lips down your form, but rather a hungry and frantic exploration of your skin. He sucked hickeys onto your breasts and bit at the soft skin on your hips. You had already been wet before he even started, and by the time he placed that first open-mouthed kiss on your cunt you were dripping for him.

His tongue lapped all over your soaking folds and he sucked your clit into his mouth. You cried out and pulled your pillow down onto your face, stifling the sound as a hot bolt ran right up your spine.

You writhed under him as he sucked and bit at your clit. He pulled it into his mouth and flicked his tongue over it and his fingers thrust inside of you. Your body was a mix of a dull soft tingle sensation and sharp currents. Your arousal ran from you and Clint drank it up greedily, moaning softly to himself.

He corkscrewed his wrist, his knuckles dragging over your internal walls, pushing and dragging on your g-spot. You screamed into the pillow, biting down on it, and came hard, gushing on his face. He groaned and sat up, wiping his face. “Fuck it is hot when you do that,” he hummed as he crawled back up your body. “And guess what?”

You lay panting under him, the last shudders of your orgasm passing through you. You reached up and cradled his jaw as he looked into your eyes. “What?”

“That made me hard again,” he whispered and thrust his cock into you.

You cried out at the sudden invasion and arched up under him. He wrapped his arm around your waist, holding you in that position, and started to thrust hard and deep into you. Your already overstimulated cunt ached for him. You clenched around his cock and rolled your hips as he thrust hard and deep inside you. He held you in place and ran his free hand down your neck and over your breasts. He teased his fingers over your nipples, pinched at them until they were hard and aching, and then latched on to one with his mouth.

You keened, bucking hard against him and digging your fingers into his back. He picked up his pace, pounding into you, and with a cry and clenching of your core muscles, you came again. “Fuck, Clint!”

He groaned. “I know, babe.” He brought his lips to you as his hips pistoned against you and with a hard jerk he came inside you.

“Mm fuck…” you hummed. “Middle-of-the-day sex after just sleeping in while the nanny has taken your kid for a walk is the best sex ever.”

Clint laughed and rolled onto his back panting. “Wasn’t too bad. The nap part would have been a nice addition.”

“You know what we need to do now?” you asked.

He nuzzled into your neck. “No, what?”

“Have a shower and go out there and hope that Doreen didn’t get back in time to hear us going at it,” you said getting up.

Clint laughed and dragged himself out of bed after you. “Have to give her a huge bonus if she did. Good lord. Scarred for life.”

You wrapped your arm around his waist as the two of you headed into the bathroom. “Then let’s go get pizza and go to the park. I wanna take Nattie on the carousel.”

Clint hummed and kissed the top of your head as he pulled you against him. He now smelled of sweat and sex and you weren’t sure if you liked the scent or not. “Sounds perfect,” he said.

Steve and Bucky were patient and they had a good blend of loving but firm-handed and understanding of their past traumas. They loved being parents too, even when it was hard and they were pouring their hearts out to Clint, you could see how much they loved those kids.

Barney was around a lot too. He stayed in your spare room until Steve took pity on you both and let him have a room in the main living quarters that the agents and recruits lived in. Even then he was around a lot, trying to make up for lost time with Clint. It was an odd relationship, there was a lot of pain under the surface but they obviously loved each other. Nattie loved her new uncle too. Mostly you just worried Clint was going to get hurt again.

The biggest thing that happened in the seven months between Nattie’s first birthday and the wedding was that in August, Kari and Wanda took two weeks off and flew to what remained of Sokovia and returned with twin boys. You knew they were four and had been orphaned during the battle for Sokovia. Aside from that, as Steve and Bucky did with their kids, they were keeping a lot of information to themselves. Kari had said Wanda was worried it would fall through when they got there because the government wasn’t super keen to allow American lesbians to adopt, and that she half expected them to change their mind at the last minute. They’d come home with the boys though, and they’d asked you all to wait to meet them until the jet lag was a little less severe and the boys had settled in a little.

Because you were all super excited to meet them, a party was held at Steve and Bucky’s place. The whole group showed up early and set up banners and balloons. Bucky spent a lot of the morning cooking Romanian food that he knew was at least close to what was common in Sokovia and you and Clint went and got a cake from the local bakery.

When Kari and Wanda showed up with their new sons there was a round of applause. Wanda was carrying one and he started to cry and buried his face in her neck, while the other hid behind Kari’s legs.

“Oh no,” Steve said, crouching down to get to the level of the five-year-old on the ground. “It’s okay. We’re just excited to meet you.”

Wanda reached down and ran her hand through the little boy’s hair and he looked up at her. She said something in Sokovian and he poked his head out from behind Kari and surveyed the room.

“They don’t really speak any English,” Wanda said, apologetically as she bounced the other boy on her hip.

“And they grew up in an orphanage where there was a lack of resources so they’re a little unused to people. They don’t really know the right way to behave,” Kari explained. “This is his Luca,” she said ruffling the boy at her side’s hair. “And that is Mihai.”

“It’s okay. Let them come to it in their own time,” Steve said in that same gentle tone. “It’s a lot of new things.”

“Thanks, Steve,” Kari said, taking Luca’s hand and leading him to the table while Wanda went and sat on the couch next to Natasha. Natasha and Wanda started talking softly in Sokovian, sometimes to each other and sometimes to Mihai. Bucky approached Kari and Luca and began to talk to Luca in Sokovian too. He pointed to food and Luca would either nod or shake his head and Bucky would add the food to the plate accordingly.

You and Clint took a seat on the couch next to Wanda and Natasha and Nattie climbed from Clint’s lap to Natasha’s. “Wassat?” she asked, pointing at Mihai.

“This is Mihai,” Natasha said and then introduced Mihai to Nattie in Sokovian. The little boy sniffed and pushed her away.

“Sorry,” Wanda said with a frown.  She took Mihai’s hand and said something to him gently. He pouted and hid his face in her stomach.

Nattie who was quite used to being rejected by older kids just got off the couch and toddled over to where the food was. Clint got up and took after her, helping her get something to eat.

“I know it’s going to be a challenge,” Wanda said as Steve came and sat down with a plate of food and Cruz in his lap, Emilio wasn’t far behind and he took the seat next to you on the couch. “But when we were deciding the best way to go about having kids, I kept thinking about those kids in Sokovia who were left without parents because of what I did, and how if anyone had taken pity on me and Pietro when our parents died none of that would have happened in the first place.”

“You can’t blame yourself for that,” Steve said. Cruz very carefully picked at the food on the plate, obviously trying very hard not to make a mess. “There were a lot of things that added up to that happening. Lots of them would have happened anyway.”

“Still, this is what I wanted to do,” Wanda said.

“I understand that,” Steve said with a nod. “I guess I would have done the same.”

“Do you mind if I ask how old you were when your parents died?” Emilio asked. He spoke so politely and you could see how much pain it was causing Steve that he was. You’d gotten to know all three of Steve and Bucky’s kids pretty well and they were usually slightly foul-mouthed and kind of hyperactive. The politeness now and how carefully Cruz was being with his food was a regression to when they arrived and were expecting to get in trouble all the time.

“I was fifteen,” Wanda said. “Your age.”

“You didn’t go into foster care?” Emilio asked.

Wanda shook her head. “The country I was from was in the middle of a war. We were saved from the wreckage of the building we lived in and left to fend for ourselves. It didn’t turn out so well.”

Emilio frowned and seemed to think things over. “If you ever need any help, I look after Cruz and Izzy all the time.”

Wanda smiled and gently rubbed Mihai’s back. “Thank you, Emilio. That is very nice of you. I’m sure you’ll be very helpful to us because you’ve been through something similar.”

Emilio smiled and nodded and went back to eating quietly.

“Kari said she’s been learning Sokovian,” you said. “How’s she doing?”

Wanda laughed softly and looked over at Kari as she sat at the table with Luca, Bucky, and Isabella. “Well, she knows more Sokovian than I know Danish.”

You started laughing. “That sounds like a polite way of saying she barely knows any.”

Wanda started giggling and shook her head. “She knows more Sokovian words than Nattie knows English. Maybe.”

As you and Wanda broke down into giggles Emilio sat up and smiled. “My dads both speak Spanish. I mean… I mean… Bucky and Steve.”

Steve looked at him and his mouth dropped open. Not wanting to let things get awkward Natasha spoke quickly. “Oh yes, they both speak lots of languages. I think your dad Bucky speaks around twenty all up.”

“That’s crazy,” Emilio said excitedly.

As he and Natasha chatted away about languages and who spoke what, you reached over and patted Steve’s thigh. He looked at you and grinned, taking your hand and giving it a squeeze.

Nattie toddled back over awkwardly carrying a plate with a piece of cake on it, she held the piece in place with her hand and she put it down on the coffee table in front of you, took a large handful, and held it out.

“Honey, honey, honey,” Clint babbled excitedly. “Check this out.” He crouched down next to Nattie and tapped her plate. “What’s this, Nattie?”

“Aunnie Cake,” she said and stuffed some in her mouth.

Clint started laughing. “She thinks Kate’s name is Cake,” he said through his laughter. “I said this was cake and she started calling it Auntie Cake.”

You and everyone around you started laughing and Clint flopped down beside you, squeezing between you and the chair. Mihai looked around and saw the cake that Nattie was eating and pointed at it as he said something to Wanda in Sokovian.

She smiled and kissed his temple and all at once, every parent in the room felt at peace.