Pint Sized Fun

Hello world! So this one ended up being longer than I planned but I had a hard time finding a good stopping point in the times I was feeling up to working on it. 

Enjoy!

Wanda looked over at Natasha a little nervously as they approached the girls, sitting on the couch as the two played together with their blocks. Tony had sent the kids upstairs, and they were waiting for them to arrive so they could introduce everyone. It seemed like no time had passed before the door open, Nate barreling in to tackle his father as Cooper and Lila walked more calmly. Kate immediately jumped up, darting over to Wanda to try and climb into her lap. Wanda easily lifted her, letting the toddler partially hide herself as Yelena came over to peek at the new people.

“Tasha, who are they?” she whispered, looking over the back of the couch.

“Those are Clint and Laura’s children. Guys, come meet the girls. Calmly,” Natasha called over, scooping Yelena up to sit on her lap.

“Hi! I’m Nate! We’ve met before when you were,” Nate was cut off, Lila elbowing him in the side once she caught up to him after he had bounded over. Yelena looked at him in confusion as Kate kept her face hidden.

“Ignore him, he forgets things. I’m Lila, this again is Nate and that’s our older brother Cooper,” Lila said, giving them a wave as she smiled at them.

Yelena waved back, chirping out a hello as Kate gave a small glance at them before burrowing herself against Wanda. It was weird for the Barton children to see them like this, having only known them as their older selves, but all three took it in stride having seen so many weird things already. Perks of having SHIELD agents for parents.

“Kate, do you want to say hello?” Wanda asked, trying to ease her out of her hiding spot.

Kate shook her head stubbornly, a small no reaching their ears.

“Well that’s too bad, cause they know all sorts of new games,” Wanda sighed dramatically, inwardly cheering when Kate looked up at her cautiously.

“New games?” she asked, just barely leaning back.

“Yes, lots of new games. But if you don’t want to meet them, I guess they can just show Yelena,” Wanda shrugged.

Kate thought about this a moment, looking back between the trio and Wanda before fully leaning back so she could look at them. Making her brave face, she gave them a wave and let out a small hi.

“Why don’t you three go help your folks in the kitchen? We need to talk to them for a second,” Natasha said, sending the Bartons off for a moment.

“What’s up?” Yelena asked, looking up at her sister.

“Well, you know how I told you that Wanda and I are together?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah, like Mama and Daddy!” Yelena said with a smile.

“That’s right, detka. Well, you know how they have date night sometimes? Wanda and I are going to be gone for just a little while tonight so we can have a date night. We probably won’t be back before you go to bed, but we will stop in and give you a kiss goodnight when we get back,” Natasha said, making sure they both understood.

“You go ‘way?” Kate asked, fear starting to fill her.

“Just for a few hours, sweetheart. I PROMISE we will be back, we aren’t leaving you,” Wanda soothed, feeling Kate’s anxiety start to rise. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…

“No! No go!” Kate cried, tears falling as her emotions started to run rampant.

“Kate, I swear to you we are coming back. There’s nothing that would keep us away,” Natasha said, trying to calm the crying child.

“No,” Kate whimpered, shoulders sagging sadly as Laura walked over to them.

“Here, let me take her. It’ll be harder to leave if you don’t go now,” she advised, noting how Yelena was starting to tear up.

“We’ll be back in a few hours, ok? You can call us if you really need to reach us,” Natasha promised her sister, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.

Wanda rocked Kate for a moment, trying to sooth her before handing her over to Laura. Kate stayed limp, just silently crying as she thrust her thumb into her mouth. Why were they leaving? They just told her this morning they were never leaving her! They even told her Mommy that when she was being scary! A cold feeling overtook her as she watched them head to the door, fear making her begin to shake slightly as they waved at them before the door closed. Wiggling to be put down, she scampered over to the door and tried to push it open. When it didn’t open, she felt her lip tremble as she slowly sat down and began to cry. She didn’t kick or throw a tantrum, just cried like her whole world was falling apart. Yelena came and sat beside her, pulling her close as she began to cry with her. Kate’s sobs got louder as she grew more panicked, face going a deep red as she took gasping breaths.

“Kate, sweetheart, come here. They will be back; they just need some time to themselves like all couples do. Please calm down, I don’t want you to make yourself sick,” Melina said, having come over to try and console them.

Kate just cried harder, tiny hiccups coming up as she leaned forward to lay on the floor despairingly. Melina scooped her up, leaning her against her shoulder while rubbing her back as she rocked her slightly. It took a few minutes, but soon Kate was reduced to small hiccupping sobs as her tears ran out. Sniffling, she wiped her face and nose against Melina’s sleeve as she let out a sad little whine. From the kitchen, Nate looked over at them before turning to his mother.

“She’s crying,” he told her, looking sad for the smaller child.

“She is, she’s upset that Wanda and Natasha are gone and doesn’t understand that they are coming back. All we can do is try and make her feel better without pushing her too much,” Laura told him, carding her fingers through his hair as she placed the food into the oven.

“I can see if she wants to play knights!” he offered excitedly, deflating slightly when she shook her head.

“I think she just wants to be held for right now. Knights may also be too rough for her, she’s a lot smaller than you,” Laura reminded him.

“Not in real life though, she’s a grown up.”

“She is, but right now she’s barely three. So even though we know her as a grown up normally, right now she’s a toddler so we have to remember that,” she said.

“Maybe we can put a movie on? I know when I’m sad I don’t usually wanna do anything,” Lila offered.

“Sounds good to me. Why don’t you three go get Yelena and pick something? I doubt Kate will care what it is,” Clint told them, waving them off to approach the girls.

Melina looked up as they approached, Yelena peeking over her shoulder as Kate just stared off into space. Lila frowned at the utterly broken looking child, not sure how to help her. Lila didn’t personally understand why this was so hard for her, to her it was a normal thing for adults to go out for a few hours, but she did understand that that wasn’t the same for everyone and respected it. Nate, bless him, tried to be helpful but wasn’t really great at it.

“Don’t worry, Kate! They will only be gone a few hours, you can see them again tomorrow!” he told her, trying to be reassuring.

Kate looked up at him a moment, red rimmed eyes blinking before her face scrunched up as she began to cry again. Nate flinched slightly, looking up at his older brother pleadingly as Melina began to rock her again.

“Sorry, he was just trying to help,” Cooper winced, relaxing when Melina threw a small smile their way.

“I know, it’s alright. She is upset but it will pass,” Melina said.

“Yelena, we were going to put a movie on. Do you want to pick one? We can all watch it before dinner,” Lila offered, making the blonde look over at her mother for permission.

“Go ahead, firefly. We will join you, I think a nice calm evening is what is needed,” Melina agreed, keeping a firm grip on Kate as she pushed herself up, grunting slightly when her knees popped.

“You ok, Mama?” Yelena asked, frowning at her slightly.

“Fine, just getting old, my darling,” Melina chuckled, once again rubbing Kate’s back as she sniffled.

“You’re still the prettiest ever, Mama! Even though your old,” Yelena grinned, making Melina snort.

“Thank you, sweetheart. I think,” she chuckled.

Letting the kids sort out the movie, she went and settled on the couch while cuddling Kate close. Kate sniffled miserably, just sitting quietly as she leaned against Melina. Alexei came up next to her, holding a box of tissues out for her. She took one and held it to Kate’s nose, instructing her to blow. Kate did so noisily, tears still falling as she asked for passy. Alexei handed one to her with a sad smile, ruffling her hair slightly as she sucked on it. The other children soon settled on Beauty and the Beast, Yelena sitting beside them so she could hold Kate’s hand. She didn’t move as the movie started, just staring forward listlessly even as they tried to engage her. They got to the dinner scene when Laura called them over for dinner, Melina opting to keep Kate in her lap as they all went over to the table. She rubbed her back gently as their plates were set down, taking a few bites while offering some to Kate. Kate refused, not wanting to eat since her tummy was still feeling bad. She could feel her anxiety rising, wishing that Wanda and Natasha would hurry up and come home.

“Come on, Katie Bug, can you try and eat at least a couple of bites for me?” Clint asked, trying to encourage her to eat some dinner.

“Yeah, Katie, it’s super yummy! Please try it?” Yelena tried, taking a large bite to show her how good it was.

Kate shook her head, fidgeting with the ends of Melina’s hair like she did with Wanda’s. She just wanted Wanda and Natasha to come back, why could no one understand that? They left her like all the other nice people her Mommy and Daddy made leave. Soon everyone else would leave too. Whimpering, she buried her face in Melina’s chest, trembling as tiny cries could be heard. Melina sighed sadly as she gathered her close, muttering reassurances in her ear.

Out in New York, Wanda and Natasha were at their favorite Italian place, although neither were able to really enjoy it. Both were worried, having heard Kate’s crying when they left and so far the updates from the others weren’t good.

“Do you think we should have stayed home?” Natasha asked, biting her lip anxiously.

“I honestly don’t know. I wanted us to have a nice night for us, but it seems we can’t stop worrying about them,” Wanda admitted with a sigh.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. God, I feel awful. She was so upset,” Natasha bemoaned as she took a large swig of her wine.

They poked at their meals for a few minutes in silence, neither quite knowing how to say what was on their mind. Wanda finally decided to just say it, taking a deep breath as she looked at her lover.

“Want to get this boxed and head home?” she asked.

“Yes, thank fuck you said something before I did,” Natasha laughed, waving down their server to ask for boxes and the bill.

“Of course, ma’am, was everything alright?” he asked.

“Yes, just need to get home to our family. We have a sad toddler missing us,” Wanda smiled, easing his worry.

“Oh, I completely understand that. When my wife and I had our son, he went through that phase of never wanting us to leave. Let me get you some boxes and I’ll bring that bill for you as well,” he told them, moving off to get their things.

“Should we call and see how things are going?” Natasha asked, wanting to head home but now somewhat doubting her decision.

“Yeah, let’s do that. I want to go back but if they are doing ok I want to keep that up,” Wanda said, biting her lip as she pulled out her phone.

They waited as the phone rang, the server bringing their boxes over along with the bill. Alexei answered a moment later, voice strangely low as he did.

“Dad? Everything ok?” Natasha asked worriedly.

“Da, others are watching movie right now and I was told to not be too loud by your sister,” he explained with a chuckle.

“Oh, makes sense. How are they doing?”

“Well, Kate has been sad and she was crying but is now being held with Melina so a bit better?” he shrugged.

“We were going to come home a bit early,” Wanda spoke up, having moved their food to the boxes and setting out their card.

“Nyet, you two enjoy the night! We have all under control,” he said confidently, a bit too loudly it seemed as they heard Yelena scold him to be quiet a moment later.

“If your sure… I guess we could walk around for a little bit?” Natasha offered, looking at Wanda doubtfully.

“Yes, you two enjoy the date, we have all things under control here,” Alexei boasted, bidding them goodbye before hanging up.

“Well, so much for heading home,” Natasha mumbled.

“Let’s put these away in the car and walk around for a little bit. They seem to be doing ok,” Wanda suggested, signing the receipt with an extremely large tip before grasping her lover’s hand to lead her away.

Back at the Tower, Alexei walked back over and settled next to Melina. She glanced over at him as she raked her fingers through Kate’s hair.

“Who was that?” she asked softly.

“Natasha and Wanda. They were going to come home but I convinced them to stay for a bit longer,” he said proudly.

“What?!” Kate yelped, head shooting up as her eyes watered.

“Alexei, why did you do that?” Melina sighed.

“The girls are good! See, all cuddles with the movie!” he defended.

“Why you keep them away?” Kate sniffled, tears falling again as she started to cry, small coughs starting to spring up as her throat got more raw.

“I… I didn’t, they will be back little one I swear,” Alexei stammered, starting to see how his good intention had gone astray.

Melina looked at Kate with a frown as she continued to cough, darting up and off to the bathroom when she began to gag slightly. She barely got Kate to the toilet before she began to get sick, not much since she had skipped dinner but enough to make her cry harder as her throat hurt even more. From the couch she could hear Clint keeping Yelena with them, her little firefly obviously upset as she tried to go to them. Rubbing Kate’s back, she murmured assurances as she gagged again, a small amount of liquid coming up before she seemed to be finished. Wetting a wash cloth in the sink, she gently wiped Kate’s face and neck before flushing the mess away. Setting Kate on the sink, she filled the small cup there and let her rinse her mouth out before spitting it into the sink. Kate just blinked up at her, large eyes wet as she sat there miserably. Deciding an early bedtime may be in order, she cradled her close before moving out to the living room. Yelena was immediately on her, small face worried as she asked if they were alright.

“We will be, my love. She’s just upset and got herself worked up but I think an early bedtime is in order. Do you want to stay here or come with us?” Melina asked, not surprised when she chose to go with them.

They made their way quickly inside, Yelena showing her mother where their pajamas were and helping to pick out a soft onesie for Kate as she made her way to the changing table. Kate laid there quietly, little raspy breaths filling the room as Melina changed her before getting her dressed. She was adorable, her purple onesie covered in little cows with small footies on the bottom. She handed her her pacifier, having her blow her nose so she could breathe easier before getting her settled into bed. Yelena had already gotten her own clothes off, letting her mother help her get dressed into the little nightgown she had picked out before climbing into Kate’s bed to hold her close. Melina sneakily snapped a quick photo of them before going to the bookshelf, grabbing a copy of Faye in Kenya before going over to read it to them. They both managed to get to the end of the book before Kate was asleep, Yelena not far behind. Melina pressed a kiss to Yelena’s head, telling her good night before leaning over to do the same to Kate. She frowned at the heat she felt there, keeping her lips pressed to Kate’s forehead a moment longer before standing straight. Flipping on their night light, she left the door cracked open and joined the others in the living room.

“They asleep?” Clint asked, watching as she sat down with a sigh.

“Yes, but Kate has a fever. Nothing crazy, likely from crying but we should keep an eye on it. Now on to other matters,” Melina said, turning with a hard stare to Alexei, who winced as he knew that look well.

“WHY, exactly, did you tell them not to come home?” she asked him.

“You said the girls needed to learn it was ok for them to leave, and they were doing well enough!” Alexei explained.

“What makes you think they were doing well?” Laura asked incredulously.

“Kate had stopped crying and they both watched the movie,” Alexei explained.

“Alexei, she stopped crying but was almost completely shut down! And Yelena was almost beside herself with worry,” Melina scolded.

“You are right. I am sorry, I thought it was better but I was wrong,” he admitted with a sigh.

“I know, and we thought so too but when she shut down, I realized we were wrong. Maybe in the future if they are still like this but we should have considered what had happened this morning,” Melina admitted.

“Yeah, I thought she would be ok after seeing her mother and having Nat and Wands prove that they weren’t leaving but I think this may have been too much too soon. Hindsight for the win,” Clint grumbled, angry at himself.

“It’s not your fault Dad, you guys thought you did the right thing,” Lila comforted.

“Yeah, you all have been great with her and Yelena! I know we just met them today but they look happy,” Cooper said.

“Thanks guys, good to know my kids are on my side,” Clint snorted.

“You’re welcome!” Nate piped in, making them all chuckle.

“Ok, you three, it’s getting close to bedtime for you too. Head to your Dad’s floor and we will be down there soon,” Laura said, tone holding no room for argument.

The three kids grumbled but headed off, knowing better than to argue. They watched them go before turning back to each other.

“Should we call them? The girls are asleep now but I know they are gonna freak out when we tell them how bad it got,” Clint questioned.

“Probably. Text them and see where they are, if they are close we can wait until they get here,” Laura told him, watching as he did as she said.

“They are heading back now, should be about ten minutes. I let them know the girls were in bed but that we would wait for them to get back,” he informed them a moment later.

They waited in comfortable silence with the TV on low until the door opened and Wanda and Natasha came hurrying in.

“Everything ok?” Wanda asked, letting Natasha put their food away.

“Well, it was for a bit. Kate stopped crying but she started to just shut down. Then Alexei told us about your call and she got upset again and made herself sick so I put them to bed early. She didn’t want to eat dinner and has a small fever so we will keep an eye on it, but I think that once she sees the both of you are back, she will be alright,” Melina informed them, making sure to give all the facts.

“She got sick? And had a fever? Why didn’t you call us?” Natasha asked, already heading for the girl’s room.

“We were going to but you were already heading back,” Laura spoke up.

“It was my fault. I thought because she was not crying and they were both watching the movie that they were okay with you being gone,” Alexei confessed, face remorseful.

“It’s fine, we can talk more in a minute,” Wanda called quietly, keeping her steps light as she entered their room.

Kate and Yelena were both asleep, little wheezy breaths coming from Kate as she lightly suckled her pacifier in her sleep. Yelena was holding her close, an arm and leg thrown over Kate protectively. Wanda reached in, gently resting the back of her hand against Kate’s forehead. It was still warm, but not insanely so. Lightly rubbing her knuckles against her cheek, she ran her hand gently over Yelena before moving so Natasha could check on them. The redhead leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to both of her girl’s before tiptoeing out of the room. They all returned to the couch, settling in before Natasha spoke up.

“I’m glad you all handled things while we were gone. The date was good but next time please call us, especially if she didn’t eat. We are trying to get weight back on her and skipping meals does not help. I think we made a mistake leaving,” she admitted, biting her bottom lip anxiously.

“I think we all made a mistake; we thought after how she was after the visit that it would be ok but it may have been too soon. We are all human, we make mistakes and now we know,” Clint said, a heavy sigh escaping as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“Well, now we know. Tomorrow we will have a chill day, we can save a visit for later on this week. It’s supposed to rain anyway, so we can have an at home day,” Wanda decided, turning to look at Natasha for her opinion.

“Sounds good to me, honestly an at home day sounds nice. We can make a blanket fort, Yelena talked about doing that before they got deaged as a date night for Kate so that may be fun,” Natasha offered.

“That sounds fine to me, we need to see if her fever goes down tonight. She was still warm when we went and checked on them, do any of you have a thermometer? We have a normal one but I’m not sure how child friendly it is,” Wanda mused.

“I have one, it scans their forehead. Let me go and grab it and we can see what her temp is,” Laura offered, heading quickly to Clint’s floor to retrieve it.

“Natasha, Wanda, I am so sorry. I really thought they were both okay, if I had known I would not have told you to stay out,” Alexei apologized, face heavy with remorse.

“It’s fine, Dad. We will get through this. And it’s not your fault, we all should have realized that even though this morning ended well she would need more time before we left. Yelena is just so happy and easy going I sometimes go off of her more than I should,” Natasha said sadly, guilt filling her as she thought of how upset Kate had been.

“She will be fine, and we now know for the future. We will keep an eye on the both of them tonight and have an easy day tomorrow,” Melina said, leaving no room for debate.

Laura came back a few moments later, leading them into the girl’s room to show them how to use it. Neither had moved, both still deeply asleep and cuddled up together. Laura quietly explained how to turn the device on and to reset it before gently sliding it across Kate’s forehead, waiting for the small beep before looking at the number. 101, not as bad as it could have been but still a bit high. Nodding to the door, they all made their way back to the living room to chat.

“Ok, so I brought up some of Nate’s Tylenol for you to use if her fever doesn’t go down. It has the dosage chart on the back and is safe for children to use. Plenty of fluids, if her throat is sore you can get some hydrating popsicles that meant for children. They also have some suckers that help with that as well, it gives a bit of numbing for their throat. Other than that I think you’ll just have to wait it out,” Laura told them, handing over a bottle of children’s Tylenol before bidding them good night as they made their way out.

Everyone bid each other good night before Clint and Laura left, Melina and Alexei heading for the guest room a moment later. Wanda and Natasha stayed out on the couch, cuddling close together as they just let themselves be for a moment.

“I feel awful, it was way too soon for us to leave even just for a few hours,” Natasha sighed, rubbing her temple slightly as a headache began to form.

“I do too, but now we know. We are ALL learning my love, it’s only been a few days and we’ve never had to deal with this situation before. We have based off of what we know from other people and the few things we have both heard in every day, but now we need to go off what we think is best. We are only human though so please don’t beat yourself up over this,” Wanda said, pressing a few kisses to Natasha’s head.

“I know, you’re right,” Natasha conceded.

“I usually am.”

“And it is still so annoying,” Natasha snorted, turning to smirk at Wanda before standing up, stretching with a groan as her back popped.

“Ready for bed? I feel like I could sleep for a year,” Natasha asked.

“Yeah, for sure. Let’s check on the girls really quick then get some sleep. We probably should get up in a few hours to check Kate’s temperature again,” Wanda mused, rising and doing her own stretch, smirking when Natasha’s eyes strayed to where her shirt had ridden up.

Putting a little extra swing in her hips, she heard Natasha follow her to the girl’s room. She frowned as she could hear little wheezing sounds coming from Kate as she breathed. Reaching her hand down, she rested the back of it against her forehead and was glad to note her fever wasn’t worse than before. Caressing the tiny cheek with her knuckles, she did the same to Yelena before moving away. Natasha came and pressed a light kiss to both of the girl’s heads before following her lover to their own room. They quickly ran through getting ready for bed, both practically following asleep as they fell into bed. They barely moved the rest of the night, only getting up once to check Kate’s temperature before going back to sleep. They were woken up the next day to a small body clambering over them on the bed, Yelena dropping onto them in a large hug.

“You’re back!” she chirped, rolling over to lay in the middle of them.

“We are! Where’s Kate?” Natasha asked, wrapping an arm around her sister to hug her close.

“She’s in bed, I don’t think she feels good,” Yelena said sadly.

“Well, let’s go check on her then. Then we can all have some breakfast,” Wanda said with a yawn, stretching a bit before lunging at Yelena to tickle her. The tiny blonde shrieked, pushing half heartedly at Wanda as she laughed.

“Wanda! Stooooop,” she giggled, writhing around on the bed.

“Well, I guess just this once,” Wanda teased, giving one last tiny tickle before hoisting Yelena over her shoulder.

They quickly went to the girl’s bedroom, noticing Kate seemed to just be waking up. Her face was flushed, big eyes tired as she blinked up at them. Her face brightened when she saw who it was, sitting up and making grabby hands at them. Natasha was quick to scoop her up, shushing her as tiny arms wrapped tightly around her neck. She still felt warm, but not as much as she had been. Wanda moved Yelena to sit on her hip before moving to hug her girls, wrapping all three of them up in her arms. Kate let out a content sigh as she relaxed, that little ball of anxiety inside her already loosening. They stayed in a group hug for a moment before Wanda broke away, reaching out to bring the thermometer over before lightly moving it across Kate’s forehead. She let out a small sigh of relief at the 100 blinking back at them, showing her fever was slowly lowering.

“Wha’ tha’?” Kate slurred, eyes drooping tiredly.

“This lets us know what your temperature is. You have a small fever so we have some medicine for you, and we are going to have a home day and watch movies and make a blanket fort. How does that sound?” Wanda asked, earning a cheer from Yelena as Kate gave a small grumble.

Natasha laughed at the gumbly toddler, moving to get her changed and ready for the day. Kate just sighed as if this was the hardest thing she had ever done, watching them with half lidded eyes as she lazily sucked on a couple of her fingers. Wanda set Yelena down, letting the tiny tornado raid the dresser before she pulled out a couple of sets of footie pajamas.

“Can we have a PJ party?” she asked, looking up with her best puppy dog eyes.

“Sure, I see you picked out the horse one. Good choice, what did you pick for Kate?” Wanda asked as she kneeled down to help her step into them, Yelena having already pulled her sleep clothes off.

“I gots her the shark! Isn’t it cute? She can go all chomp chomp,” Yelena explained with a happy wiggle.

“Oh, that sounds fun!” Wanda laughed, moving her to the dresser so she could comb and braid her hair.

“I ‘ike sharks,” Kate mumbled, still mostly just watching as Natasha got her dressed in the soft onesie.

“I know you do, maybe we can watch some sharks later,” Natasha offered, sitting her up so she could do her own hair.

“Jaws?” Kate asked, a hopeful tone in her voice.

“Umm… maybe not Jaws, kiddo. Let’s go get breakfast,” Natasha said, steering her away from that thought process.

Kate just let out a small huff before leaning over slightly, grabbing onto her foot with her good hand and playing with her toes. Natasha lifted a brow but continued to braid her hair, tying it off and moving to face Kate.

“Having fun?” she asked, giving a confused smile to the tiny girl.

“I guess,” Kate shrugged, letting go of her foot to reach for Natasha.

“Well, you seemed to enjoy your toes,” Natasha said as she lifted Kate to her hip.

“I dunno,” Kate said, resting her head on Natasha’s shoulder tiredly.

Natasha just chuckled as she made her way to the kitchen, Wanda and Yelena having already gone ahead and she saw them setting the table as Melina finished cooking breakfast.

“Where’s Dad?”

“He went to walk the dogs. They were pacing in front of the girl’s door so he is trying to wear them out,” Melina said, giving a flip of the pan as she stirred whatever was in it.

“Whatcha making, Mama?” Yelena asked, standing on tiptoe to try and peer in.

“Breakfast scramble, so some sausage, potatoes, vegetables, and we will fry some eggs to go over it. I also have some oatmeal in case that isn’t something some little bits like,” Melina said, tilting the pan over to show her youngest.

“That may be too rich for Kate but we can try a small bit, what do you think?” Natasha asked, bouncing Kate a little bit to get her attention.

“I try,” Kate mumbled, eyes tired as she looked at her.

“You feeling better, Katie?” Yelena asked, walking over to look at her friend.

Kate shrugged, letting herself be set on the counter as Wanda came over with her medicine. She took it without complaint, eagerly drinking down the milk given to her to wash the taste away. Wanda pulled her close for a cuddle, reaching down for Yelena’s hand as she led them to the table. Kate let her put her in her high chair, Yelena being set in her own booster next to her before Wanda handed them both some crayons and paper to keep them busy while they finished cooking.

“Are the Barton’s coming over today?” Wanda asked, moving to help Melina cook up some eggs and get the scramble into bowls.

“Maybe this afternoon, they were going to take the kids to the museum that we went to so we could have a calm day,” Melina answered, thanking her as she began frying eggs.

“Sounds good. After breakfast we can have a movie day, although little bit wants to watch Jaws,” Natasha said with a good-natured eye roll.

“Of course she does, we can find a child friendly shark movie,” Wanda laughed, shaking her head to herself.

Melina just looked between them a moment, slightly confused but deciding to focus on finishing their food. They quickly finished up with the food, deciding to keep the girl’s food separate for now in case they didn’t like it. Alexei came in just as they were sitting down, slightly sweaty with both dogs panting beside him.

“Shower first,” Melina ordered, not giving him a chance to speak as she pointed to the hallway.

“Yes dear,” he grumbled, shooting Yelena a wink to make her laugh before rushing to clean up.

After all, he was never one to miss breakfast!