Chapter 3
Clint walked into his room at the Avengers tower not bothering to flick on the light. He pulled off his shirt before unbuttoning his pants.
“So, how’d dinner go?” Natasha’s voice came from his bed.
“Holy fuck Tasha- I swear to god I’m buying you a bell.” Clint said startled. “Do you know how creepy that is?”
“Says the man who spent the week hiding in the air vents to scare Stark.” Natasha commented.
“Come on- that was hilarious.” Clint insisted.
“Yes, it was. Now my question- how was dinner?”
“It was good. I told her I’d see if Tony could help find the little girl’s family.” Clint told her as he sunk down on the bed to sit beside her.
“He will- guy’s a sucker for kids.” Natasha commented.
“You mentioned. I told her I’d call her tomorrow after I talk to him.”
“I told you your hero complex is kicking in.”
“Tasha for the last time I don’t have a hero complex.”
“Budapest that’s all I’m saying Clint.” Natasha pointed out as she pushed off the bed to head to her own room. “Starks still in his lab and he probably will stay there until four am. If you want a chance to talk to him, I’d go now.”
“Thanks Tasha.” Clint said as he stood up and grabbed his pants off the floor. He grabbed a fresh tee shirt out of the closest and pulled it on as he walked toward the elevator.
“Jarvis can you take me down to the lab?” He asked the celling.
“Right away Mr. Barton.” Jarvis said as the elevator began to descend. Tony had just finished some new tech that allowed Jarvis to project his words on to any flat or holographic surface. Before the battle the tower had over fifty labs located throughout the building. Tony had three personal labs himself. Now only his basement lab survived which was probably for best as that is where he kept most of his Ironman tinkering. When Clint arrived at the lab he could hear the old rock music blaring through the thick glass walls.
“Hey Jarvis? Could you open the door for me? And maybe turn down the music?” Clint asked. His hearing aids struggled to filter out the music in the background from people talking to him.
“Of course, Agent Barton, Sir has not enabled his privacy protocols.” Jarvis told him as the AI projected the words on to the lab’s door. With that the glass doors opened, and the music stopped.
“Jarvis! What the hell? Where’s my tunes?” Tony asked from his work bench.
“Agent Barton is here to talk to you Sir.”
“Legolas what do you need?” Tony asked.
“Need some help on a science thing.” Clint said carefully stepping over half-finished bits of tech.
“New arrows? What about boomerang arrows? That way you don’t run out. Or more upgrades on your hearing aids? I’ve had some new ideas.” Tony asked.
“Umm no- that sounds cool though the boomerang arrows. We should talk about that later. But could you please leave the aids alone?” Clint said getting distracted. “No remember when you picked me up off the street in the battle.”
“Yeah? I can’t make you fly. That’s my job in our midlife crisis excuse for a boy band” Tony said.
“No that’s not what I want. I help a woman rescue a little girl, but they still haven’t identified her. The kid that is. Could you do anything? Charlotte mentioned maybe digital foot prints? The city seems to be lacking resources.” Clint tried to explain.
“More Banner’s area than mine. The biology stuff that is. I have resources. Still between us we could probably do something. Collect data and have Jarvis run down possibilities. Facial recognition if parents put pictures of her on Facebook or something. Bring her in tomorrow.” Tony told him before going back to whatever he had been working on before the interruption.
“Will do Tin Man.” Clint said before turning to head back up to his floor. Maybe living with a billionaire would have some benefits. Once back in his room Clint started getting ready for bed a second time. This time he even made it all the way to taking out his hearing aids and getting into bed. He didn’t bother to set an alarm. His internal clock or Natasha would wake him up for their morning spar. Years of being in the military and a spy gave him the training to fall asleep instantly anywhere. He’d always been grateful for that skill.
Clint rolled out of bed at seven the next morning rubbing his face as he wandered into the kitchen. He went straight to the coffee pot sitting on the counter and pushed the button to start the liquid churning. Even years in the army hadn’t made him a morning person. He knew Natasha would be coming in a few minutes to make something light to eat before they went and sparred. He started pulling the fresh fruit out of the fridge. Organic fruit Tony insisted. Strawberries, blackberries some other random kind of fucking berries, some kale, spinach he didn’t know how Natasha made these things taste good, but she did. She also always made enough for both of them, so he couldn’t complain.
“Coffee.” Natasha signed as she came into the kitchen. Her hair was already pulled back into the tight ballerina bun she favored for working out.
“Almost done. Got your rabbit food out too.” Clint signed back.
“Keep making fun of it and I won’t make you one and you can spar against me hungry.” Natasha signed pointedly at him going to the counter to start cutting things up for their smoothies.
“It’s yummy rabbit food.” Clint amended signing with one hand as he poured her a cup of coffee.
Forty-five minutes later the two faced off in the tower gym. Luckily only the top twenty floors of the Stark tower had been destroyed. The gym had been located toward the main floors, so employees could use it as they wanted. In the new tower designs Tony planned on giving the Avengers their own gym near the top floors until then everyone used the old gym. The pair warmed up in silence. Each of them had a different style. Natasha did a graceful combination of ballet and yoga stretches while Clint mixed circus and military. He put in his hearing aids in before they started so they could talk while they fought.
Once they finished stretching the pair squared off facing each other. They traded several warm up attacks before falling back to circle each other. Clint darted in for the first attack preferring to take the offense.
“We have to get Steve down here. We’re getting too used to sparring with just each other again.” Clint said as Natasha ducked away from his swing.
“We can ask him later today.” Natasha said as she swung up with a high kick, “how did your conversation with Stark go?”
“Good he said he’d be able to help.” Clint caught her ankle and spun her in the air. As Natasha landed she swept her legs out knocking him to the ground.
“I’m going to call her once we have a real breakfast.” Clint continued after he regained his wind.
“Good.” Natasha said as they continued to spar. They exchanged blows and kicks for another forty-five minutes before calling it quits.
“You’re turn to cook- gods all help us.” Natasha reminded him as they rode the elevator back up to the apartment floor.
“My cooking is not that bad!” Clint insisted as they parted ways toward their respective showers. After Clint washed the sweat off from the morning workout he tossed on a loose pair of sweats and grabbed his phone. He knew the others would be probably be at breakfast, so he popped his hearing aids back in.
Once in the kitchen he pulled out bacon, eggs, veggies and all the ingredients for pancakes. He figured if Banner and Rogers would wander through the kitchen sooner or later and he might as well feed them too. Thor had gotten back to Earth a few days ago and he ate almost as much as Steve. It made sense to cook for everyone- even if that meant using over two dozen eggs for the scrambled eggs alone. As he started to chop the veggies to mix in the scrambled eggs he pulled out his phone and pressed Charlotte’s contact number.
Clint had to admit there were some great perks to living with Tony Stark. In the week they’d been there Tony had hooked him up with some great prototypes. One of which being a holographic screen that came up when he made a phone call and translated the conversation to writing. That way if his hearing aids missed something he could just read it. Or he could make calls without bothering to put them in. Stark also insisted on fiddling with his hearing aids and seeing if he could upgrade them. Clint had started to hide his hearing aids, so he wouldn’t wake up with new tricked out hearing aids that only worked half the time.
“H’lo?” A sleep ridden voice came over the phone. The text popped up on the holographic screen.
“Oh- shit. I’m sorry. Of course, you’re asleep. Neighbor has the kid of course you slept in.” Clint said mentally kicking himself. It was barely past nine on a Sunday.
“Clint?” Charlotte asked sounding slightly more awake. Clint had to admit one improvement Tony made to his hearing aids was re-configuring the team’s com system and the Bluetooth in his phone to connect better to his hearing aid. He didn’t have to try to filter out background noise. Either way he still preferred to have the option of reading the conversation. It took less concentration.
“Um, yeah it’s me.” Clint said.
“Hi, good morning. I’m awake, I’m awake. Kind of. God, I need coffee.” Charlotte muttered.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t look at the time when I called.” Clint said apologetically.
“No, it’s ok, it’s fine. Did you talk to Tony Stark?” She asked.
“I did. He thinks Dr. Banner and he can help. Said something about facial recognizing tech and Facebook. Said you guys can come by today.” Clint tossed the veggies into the egg mix.
“Just come by Stark Tower? No big deal.” Charlotte said.
“I could come by and pick you guys up.” Clint told her. “If that was going to make it less strange.”
“Um, yeah sure that’d be great.” Charlotte said, “Esme is bringing Baby Girl back between noon and two this afternoon. Would three work for you?”
“Yeah, Tony probably just be getting up by then.” Clint said.
“Perfect, see you at three I guess.”
“See you at three.”
Clint hung up the phone and stared at it for a second. He set it back down on the counter and went back to cooking. Twenty minutes later he had a stack of pancakes tall enough to intimidate most people, a serving bowl full of scrambled eggs and about four pounds of bacon. As if on cue Natasha walked into the room perfectly put together followed by Steve, Thor and Bruce. The five of them fell on the food and ate mostly in silence. Bruce and Steve needed to feed their serum enhanced metabolisms and neither Clint nor Natasha had ever been the type to talk much during meals.
Both of them has lived lives where food hadn’t always come easy or often.
After all of the food was gone Bruce and Steve insisted on doing the dishes saying it was only fair after they’d eaten most of the food. Natasha wandered off to clean her guns and sharpen her knives as she did every week. Clint hung back to talk to the others.
“Banner did Tony mention a friend of mine coming by today?” Clint asked.
“Yeah, the one with the little girl that needs to be identified.” Bruce said holding a plate.
“Are you ok with it?” Clint asked.
“I do much better with children than I do most people.” Bruce said. “We should be able to help her either way.”
“Thanks Bruce.” Clint said to the doctor.
“It’ll be an interesting day to say the least. Thor’s girlfriend and her assistant are arriving today.” Steve said from the sink where he was drying dishes.
“Jane Foster?” Bruce asked. “I’ve read quite a bit of her work. She’s brilliant. It’ll be great to meet her.”
"The Lady Jane is as intelligent as she is beautiful. The Lady Darcy equally so even if in a different way. Where Lady Jane is a woman of Science, Lady Darcy is one who studies rulers and nations. I am lucky both considered me worthy enough to share in their relationship." Thor said around a huge plate of food.
For a moment the others blinked at the revelation Thor had casually tossed across the table.
Clint left Bruce explaining the basis of astrophysics and poly relationships to Steve as he went off to find Natasha and take care of his own weapons. He slipped his hearing aids off and set them on the table.
“They itch.” He signed to Natasha.
“I know.” She signed back. Natasha grabbed the remote and turned on the close captioning for the cooking show she had on.
“It makes me feel normal.” Natasha signed to Clint.
“I know.” Clint signed and nodded. Both of them had little things they needed to do to feel normal. The pair fell into silence with guns and knives spread on the table in front of them.
~&~
Charlotte stared at the gurgling coffee pot waiting for the caffeinated sludge to drip down into the waiting pot. She really should get a new coffee maker, but she also was working on a tight budget now a days. Being a high school history teacher wasn’t the best paying gig. She had to laugh at the fact she made more money while in college than after. Before the attack she’d been considering going back to her old gig- moon lighting for a few weekends. Until she figured out what was going to happen to Baby Girl she didn’t want to do that. If it was going to be a long-term thing Esme could watch her for the night. That way Charlotte could get some new things for Baby Girl. At the very least figure out a better sleeping arrangement. Of course, there’s a chance they could find her parents right away.
Charlotte carried her cup of coffee to the bathroom connected to the bedroom. That was the one huge perk of the shoe box apartment- it came with a decent bathroom. She had a good sized master bathroom with a big old claw foot tub and shower handle. If she was going to the Stark Tower today escorted by one of the Avengers who saved her life she was going to have a god damn bath. Baby Girl wouldn’t be back for a few hours and Charlotte had a book she wanted to finish.
Charlotte ran the water so hot it almost scalded her. She added several scoops of lavender and chamomile bath salts and a rose bubble bath. After the bath filled Charlotte let her robe pool to the floor. She stepped into the tub and hissed as the hot water kissed her skin. She slowly sank down into the water and lay her head back against the porcelain tub. Bits of her auburn hair fell from the messy bun she’d put it in and stuck to the back of her neck. She grabbed her book off the little table she kept to the side of the tub and began to read.
An hour and a half later she emerged from the bathroom her hair wrapped up in a towel. She walked into the kitchen to pour herself another cup of coffee. She wandered back to her closet and looked through her clothes. She grabbed one of her professional dresses and laid it out on the bed. She looked at her shoe rack hanging over her door and grabbed a pair of heels that were comfortable and made her feel more confident.
“Underwear.” She said to herself, “cute underwear. That’ll make me more confident. It’s worked before. Besides I’ve done this before. I’ve gone to the home of the stupid rich before- very different context sure but I’ve done it. God damn. Thank god Esme got Baby Girl church clothes.”
Charlotte may not be close to her small-town Catholic parents, but they did pound a few things into her head. Never show up at someone’s home messy. If you are a guest, you act like one. Charlotte didn’t want to insult Tony Stark by bringing a cheap bottle of wine, but she wasn’t going to show up like a slob. She didn’t have a lot but when she did buy she bought quality. A few of her nicer things some of her former customers had bought her. The black Chanel dress she’d chosen for today was one of her favorites. A former state senator had bought it for her. She slid on silk underwear and bra set. She also grabbed a thin black tank top and slid it on over her bra. The Chanel dress was beautiful, but it had a seam that always rubbed her hips and waist.
The routine of fixing her hair and makeup relaxed her. It always had. She carefully blow dried her hair before rolling it up in hot rollers. While the rollers set she carefully plucked her brows and applied her makeup. Understated and simple. Soon after she finished styling her hair she heard a knock on the door.
“Mi’ja! Volvimos!” Esme called through the door. Mi'ja we're back!
“Ya voy!” Charlotte called zipping up her dress. She glanced at the clock and was shocked to see it was already two. Charlotte opened the door to her neighbor dressed to the nines in her good church dress and Baby Girl wearing an adorable purple Sunday dress.
“Que linda!” Charlotte exclaimed. “De donde se encuentra ese Esme?”
“Mi amiga, su nieta no lo usa mas.” Esme said. “Que bonita tu!”
“Vamos a Stark Tower. Es possible que el puede ayudarnos encontrar su padres.” Charlotte explained.
“De veras? Mi’ja que bien!” Esme said. “Me voy ahora. Llamame despues y digame todo.”
“Si claro Tia. Gracias por todo.”
“De nada mi’ja de nada.” Esme said before she hurried back to her apartment. Charlotte was certain that in twenty minutes Esme’s entire church group would know that her sobrina was going to Stark Tower. Charlotte’s neighbor had many talents and keeping the ladies of her church up to date on gossip was just the tip of the ice berg. Charlotte had gotten strep throat once and not one, but five dishes had shown up at her door via Esme. All five of them had invitations to bible study.
Charlotte closed the apartment door and turned back to the two year-old wandering into the living room to play with her toys.
“Did you have fun Baby Girl?” Charlotte asked. The social worker said that Baby Girl was doing alright. The social worker also said that if Baby Girl didn’t speak a lot for a few weeks not to worry. The trauma of the battle and not having her parents might cause her vocabulary to drop significantly. The social worker suggested talking to Baby Girl as much as possible since she probably understood a fair amount.
“Fun!” The toddler said smiling. Within a moment the smile dropped off the little girl’s face.
“Where mommy daddy?” Baby Girl asked looking around to see if they popped up out of the corner.
“I don’t know Baby Girl. I’m trying to find them.” Charlotte told her. This wasn’t the first time Baby Girl asked for her parents and Charlotte was sure it wouldn’t be the last. It happened at the most random times, during dinner, bath time, right before bed and sometimes while she was playing. Charlotte sat down on the floor and opened her arms, so the child could crawl into her lap.
“I’m trying to find them Baby Girl. I’m trying.” She whispered as she held the little girl close. The pair sat there until another knock sounded on the door. Charlotte carefully untangled her legs and walked over to the door and opened it to Clint standing in the hall.
“You really need an elevator.” Clint told her.
“It’s only a third-floor walkup.” Charlotte said, “Give me one second to grab my purse.” She stepped back in to the apartment to grab her purse and check to make sure she had a book, toy and snack for Baby Girl.
“Alright I think we’re ready.” Charlotte said turning back to the archer in her doorway. “And shouldn’t an Avenger deal with a few flights of stairs better?”
“I like my exercise to be intentional.” Clint told her, “You look nice by the way.”
“Thanks, it’s one of my favorites.” Charlotte said honestly while she tried to juggle the toddler and the purse and slip her shoes on at the same time. Low heels might not be the most practical, but she felt more confident wearing them. Luckily her blisters had healed in the two weeks since the battle.
“Want me to take something?” Clint asked her.
“Actually, if she’ll go to you would you mind?” Charlotte asked nodding toward the toddler.
“Hey Baby Girl, wanna come here?” Clint asked holding out his arms. Baby Girl studied him carefully before she nodded and leaned over so Clint could pluck her from Charlotte’s arms. They walked down the three flights of stairs and out of the apartment building. A silver SUV sat on the street parked illegally.
“I thought Avengers were supposed to follow the law.” Charlotte said.
“I’m pretty sure it’s against the law to legally park in New York.” Clint told her.
“Oh fu- I mean fudge, I don’t have a car seat!” Charlotte realized.
“I do- Natasha said we’d need one.” Clint said proudly as he opened the door to the back of the car.
“Thank god, I hadn’t even thought of it. Hell, I haven’t even driven a car since I moved here.” Charlotte explained as she stepped forward to settle Baby Girl into the car seat. After the toddler was buckled in the two adults climbed into the front seat.
“Ready?” Clint asked.
“Not at all.” Charlotte told him. “But let’s go find her parents.”
“Alright, come on- it’ll be fun.” Clint said as he started up the car. He pulled back into the traffic and headed for Manhattan.