Puzzle Time!
Both girls were grumpy when they were woken up to get out of the car. While normally they would have no issue carrying them upstairs, Natasha pointed out that they had all the bags to bring in as well so they didn’t have free hands. Plus, if they slept too long neither would be ready for bed any time soon. Yelena stomped slightly as she made her way to the elevator, Kate mimicking her for a moment before getting distracted by her shoes lighting up. Her tiny giggles seemed to put Yelena in a better mood, both girls jumping in the elevator making it randomly light up. Neither seemed interested in the view going up, and they were soon at their door.
“Fingers crossed,” Wanda murmured as they stepped into the apartment. She set her bags down before kneeling to be at eye level with the two girls.
“Ok my loves, we have a couple of friends from the other night here helping us get your beds set up. They would like to come and say hi, but if you feel uncomfortable just let us know and we can go somewhere else, ok?” she told them, one hand on a tiny shoulder of each girl to make sure they were listening.
“Ok, they were all really nice! Even if the princess man was loud,” Yelena chirped as Kate gave a slow nod.
Natasha snorted as she looked down at her sister, one brow raised in question. “Princess man?”
“Yeah, he’s got long hair like a princess!” Yelena explained like it should have been common knowledge.
“Oh, I see, my apologies. Well, the princess man won’t be here, it’s Clint and Tony. Do you remember them? Clint came and said hello and Tony is the man with the moustache,” Natasha told them as she led them into the living room.
“I do! Where are they?” Yelena asked, looking around.
“We were summoned, I think my dear bird man,” Tony mused as he made his way into the room, a small toolbox under his arm.
“Seems like it, beds are all set up and we got the mattresses on them. Only thing they need is their bedding and they’ll be good to go,” Clint told them as he watched Kate from the corner of his eye.
She watched them back, moving slowly around them while never turning her back to them. She also made sure to keep an escape open he noticed, making his heart ache as he tried not to think of how a toddler knew to do that. He waited until she had rounded the couch before turning to her with a small smile, giving a little wave before turning back to Natasha. Kate watched him a moment before moving onto the couch, slowly creeping closer to where he was standing. The dinosaur puzzle was next to him on the table, and if she was really sneaky, she could probably get it without him noticing her. She slid down onto the floor, crawling the last few inches on her knees before reaching her hand onto the table and feeling for the puzzle.
Clint of course saw the entire thing and had to repress a chuckle at the tiny wannabe ninja. He saw her tiny hand start patting at the coffee table trying to find the puzzle and decided to try and use this as an ice breaker. Grabbing the puzzle, he kneeled down to the frozen tot, her eyes large as she watched him.
“Here ya go, Katie girl. I like dinosaurs too, want to do this one with me?” he asked, being sure to keep his voice calm as he smiled at her.
Kate watched him for a moment, eyes darting between him and the puzzle in hand before nodding. Pushing up onto her knees, she waited for him to sit down before joining him, keeping the corner of the table as a barrier. Clint let her keep her space, sliding the puzzle to her and watching her try to open it.
“Want me to open it?” he asked, letting his hand rest on the table palm up.
Kate chewed her lip in thought before pushing the puzzle towards him.
“Yes pwease.”
Clint held back a grin as he pulled the top off, dumping the pieces out in easy reach. He let her shove them around a bit before getting started on it. He made some small talk with her, commenting on the colors and handing her pieces when she pointed to them. A grin broke out when she pouted grumpily as a piece wouldn’t fit. She let out an angry grunt while trying to smack it into place. It reminded him of his own kids when they were this age, and occasionally even now if they were in enough of a mood.
“Katie, I don’t think that’s the right one,” Yelena commented as she dropped onto Kate’s other side, looking over the pieces that they had matched.
“But I want the Rexie,” Kate whined softly as she smacked it again.
“We can all do it together! Oh, Wanda wants to know if you need the potty,” Yelena remembered as she dug through the pieces.
“Nuh uh,” Kate said, shifting absently as she pushed the offending piece away.
Clint watched her a moment, noticing how her pants were a little bit saggy. He looked behind him to see Wanda watching them, and he mouthed diaper change at her while nodding slightly at the engrossed toddler. Wanda nodded, moving off to gather the supplies as Clint turned back to their puzzle.
“Do you like the T Rex, Kate?” Clint asked casually, adding a sky piece while looking for others.
“Yeah, they make the scawy people go ‘way,” Kate chirped, the most animated he had seen her.
“Scary people?” he asked, purposely keeping his tone light. From the kitchen he knew Natasha was tuned in, listening intently without letting them know.
“Mommy and Daddy scawy sometimes,” Kate shrugged, cheering when she saw the tail was finished.
“I’m sorry they were like that. I bet it makes meeting new people scary for you,” Clint mused aloud.
“Yeah, but you ok,” Kate told him, giving him a shy smile before quickly looking away.
“I’m glad you think so. I think you’re pretty great too,” Clint told her honestly, heart warming that she was starting to be comfortable around him.
Wanda appeared after that, a small basket of supplies in her hand as she sat on the couch, smiling over Kate’s shoulder at their progress.
“Wow this looks really good! Kate, would it be alright if we changed your pull up? It’s been a while since you went potty last and it's probably time for some more cream for your rash,” Wanda asked, making sure Kate knew fully well all the reasons.
Kate looked between her and the puzzle for a moment, whining slightly but slowly raising her arms to Wanda. The witch laughed as she lifted her, raising her into the air for a moment to make her giggle before standing up and laying Kate down on the couch.
“Don’t worry sweet girl, once we’re done you can go back to your game while we finish up dinner,” Wanda promised, giving her a small boop on the nose and getting a sweet laugh in return.
Kate thrust her thumb in her mouth as Wanda pulled her pants off, just now noticing she hadn’t had her passie for a little while as she felt the pull up being undone. Wanda winced a bit at the wet material, noting it was a bit heavy but she hadn’t soiled it. Her rash was a bit redder than earlier, and she made a note to do more checks as she cleaned her up before applying a thick layer of cream. Kate gave a little sigh of relief at the cooling cream, making Wanda curse herself a bit as she put a diaper on her. They had found some while they were out that were meant for toddlers over pull ups, so she would be able to move around better. Wiping her hands on a fresh wipe, she went to put her pants back on only for Kate to kick at her a bit. She looked up to see Kate grinning around her thumb, eyes twinkling mischievously as she gave little kicks to keep her pants off.
“Oh I see, are we wanting a no pants evening then?” Wanda asked with a laugh, laughing harder when Kate gave a firm nod.
“Ok then, off you get, dinner will be ready soon,” Wanda told her, lifting her back on the floor with a pat on the bottom. Kate gave her a smile before going back to her spot, eagerly reaching for the pieces.
Natasha watched her as Wanda made her way back to her, throwing the used pull up in the trash before going to wash her hands. She waited for Wanda to join her and start chopping vegetables before speaking.
“She seems to be getting along with Clint. Everything ok with you?”
“Yeah, we need to check on Kate’s rash more. Her pull up was pretty heavy, I don’t think she realizes when she needs to go unless it’s to poop,” Wanda said absently, barely noticing Natasha’s snickers until she turned to see her stifling a laugh.
“What?”
“Nothing lyubov, you just sounded like a mother right there it made me laugh. Tony left, said he and Pepper were having a date night after his day of ‘forced labor’ building the beds,” Natasha told her as she seasoned some chicken before sliding it into the oven.
“And he says we’re dramatic. I’m glad she seems to be bonding with Clint, I know it was hard on him having her scared of him after all they’ve gone through together,” Wanda said as she watched the girls help Clint with the puzzle. Kate had inched closer to him, leaning against his side to watch as he put two pieces together.
“Clint, are you staying for dinner?” Natasha called. “It’s baked chicken and veggies.”
“Sounds good, you two ok with me staying for a bit longer?” Clint asked.
“Yeah, can we play dinosaurs after?” Yelena asked excitedly.
“Sure. Kate, what do you think?”
“Otay,” she mumbled, moving to sit on his lap absently as she moved more pieces into place.
Clint froze for a moment, his wide-eyed gaze meeting Natasha’s and Wanda’s as he slowly began helping with the puzzle. Natasha felt her eyes water as she watched Clint gently cuddle Kate, knowing how much he was enjoying bonding with his mini protégé. Yelena had a hold of her casted hand, but soon decided she wanted cuddles too and shoved her way onto Clint’s lap until she had Kate halfway in her own so she could hold her close. Clint tried hard to stifle his laughs, making them shake in his lap as they shrieked with laughter.
“Horsey ride!” Yelena cried, not noticing when Kate stopped laughing.
“Ok. Kate, do you want a horsey ride?” Clint asked, frowning a bit when she began to whimper.
“No, no play howsey! No no no no no!” she screamed, tears falling as she began to sob. Yelena hugged her close, apologizing over and over as she tried to console the upset toddler.
Clint quickly took action, lifting both girls as he moved to sit on the couch, Yelena sat next to him as he held Kate close and tried to sooth her. Rubbing her back, he shushed her gently as she cried into his shoulder.
“It’s ok Katie Kate, shh shh it’s ok. We don’t have to play, deep breaths kiddo.”
Kate took some choppy breaths, sniffling as her breathing evened out. She hiccupped a few times while rubbing her face on his shoulder. He chose to ignore as her snot got on his sleeve. Once she had calmed a bit, he moved her so she was sitting facing him. Her eyes being so red and puffy broke his heart.
“Ok kid, I want you to listen very carefully. You never EVER have to play a game that makes you uncomfortable. We will all be okay with playing something else. Understand?” he asked, waiting for her to nod before continuing. “So, I know this made you really upset, and you don’t need to say why, I just want you to know that no matter what we won’t make you play something you don’t want to play so you don’t need to be afraid of that.”
Kate stared at him for a long moment, eyes darting around his face before she lunged forward, knocking the air out of him slightly with her hug. He pressed a kiss to her head before setting her down by Yelena, letting the blonde hold her close while he turned on the TV before heading into the kitchen. Natasha was rubbing Wanda’s back, trying to soothe the witch as she held onto the counter. Wanda’s hands were white with how hard she was holding the counter, little pulses of red coming out of her hands. Clint was surprised she didn’t have cracked teeth with the force of her clenched jaw.
“Guys?” he asked, making his presence known.
“Wanda accidentally got hit with why Kate hates playing horsey. Let’s just say her deceased uncle would be even more deceased if he was still around,” Natasha said darkly while trying to calm down her lover.
Clint let this sink in before taking a deep breath to stay calm. He could work out his anger later, he had to keep his cool while around the kids. He had made too much progress to lose it now. Moving the women from the stove, he took over finishing his vegetables as Wanda got a hold of her fury. These kids were too precious to see them like that. The timing worked out for all of them, the chicken finishing up as he did with the vegetables and the two women were back to being calm. They quickly plated the food, making the girls bite sized before moving it to the table. Natasha briefly debated on having them help set the table but decided to leave them be. Filling everyone’s drinks, she called the girls over for dinner once they got the booster and highchair set up.
“Yay food, I’m so hungry!” Yelena told them as she dragged Kate to the table.
Kate watched her get strapped into the booster but moved away when they tried to reach for her.
“Wanna sit with him,” she said, pointing at Clint while holding her arms up for him.
“You sure?” he asked, picking her up with a little toss.
“Yes pwease,” she giggled.
“Are YOU sure? It’s gonna be messy,” Natasha warned as she tucked a napkin into Yelena’s shirt.
“You’ve been around all three of my kids as babies. This isn’t new,” he reminded while settling in his chair, taking Kate’s plate from Wanda and putting it next to his own.
Let the dinner begin!