"Daaaaaddddy!!!" With a shriek, Katie throws herself around Clint's legs, nearly toppling him over. He had been hanging Christmas garland around one of the living room windows while Natasha supervised, from the couch, with a mug of coffee in hand.
"Whoa there, sugarplum!" Clint reaches down and tousles her mop of red hair, which makes Katie giggle.
"Can we play hide and seek?' she asks.
"Only if you want to lose. You remember that dad was a master hider at his job, you know." Clint says.
"I can win. For sure." Katie bobs her head once in confidence, then bounces onto the couch with Natasha. Full of energy, as always. Clint grins.
"She can definitely beat you." Natasha agrees.
"Hey now! My own wife? The one who has hidden with me in so many places? Thinks I'm going to let a four year old beat me at my own game??" Clint is actually slightly offended.
Natasha shrugs. "You're getting soft, Clint."
"You think I've lost my edge? " Clint gapes. Natasha shrugs again, then winks at Katie. Katie hasn't yet figured out the mystery that is winking one eye, so she blinks both eyes at Natasha in a 'mock wink'.
"Ok, you are ON. Let's even make a bet. If I win, I want a backrub. A GOOD backrub". Clint emphasizes. He knows where backrubs usually wind up taking them.
"Ok. And you lose, I get the backrub," The corner of Natasha's mouth curves slightly as she says it. "And trust me. You'll lose."
"It doesn't exactly sound like a losing scenario either way.." Clint mutters, making Natasha grin and look demurely down into her coffee mug.
"Ok, ready Daddy!!! I'll count!!!" Katie announces, throwing herself off the couch and onto a pile of pillows she had been playing in earlier. She ducks her head and begins counting loudly. "ONE...TWO..."
"Ok! Ok!" Clint jogs out of the room, making a ton of noise on purpose to throw her off. Katie's counting skills will get her close to twenty, possibly thirty if Natasha is helping. Clint partially stomps up the stairs, then swings himself back down and tiptoes to the kitchen. That will definitely throw her off, he knows.
He hears Katie pause at number twelve. "FOURTEEN!" She shouts. There's a murmur as Natasha gently corrects her, so then Katie shouts "I MEAN, THIRTEEN!!"
Clint quietly slides into the kitchen. He knows Katie will check all the cupboards and cabinets on the floor level first. But above the kitchen counters, there's just room enough for a person to squeeze on top of the space between the cabinets and the ceiling. Clint quietly climbs up and squeezes into the space, lying on his back almost nose to ceiling. He grins once in place. There's no way she'll ever find him.
"TWENTY!" Katie shouts. "I'm coming now, daddy!!" He hears her scampering around the living room, then down the hall and up the stairs. She has a real fetish about checking the bathroom first, and he hears her open that door and then shuffle the shower curtain and closing the towel cupboard. He listens as she moves along the upstairs, shutting bedroom and closet doors.
"I'll find you!!" She yells, and Clint grins and closes his eyes. You could almost nap up here, he thinks.
A few more minutes go by. Katie keeps slamming doors upstairs, then comes downstairs again and looks into the washer and dryer. "Daddy?" She sounds uncertain now. She comes into the kitchen and starts opening all the cupboards. "Daddy?" Clint smiles when she leaves the kitchen and heads back down the hallway. Oh yeah. This is definitely in the bag.
"Daddy??" Katie calls, and there's a tremble in her voice now. "Daddy?? Daddy???" The calls pull at his heart. She sounds panicked, and Katie doesn't usually get panicked like this.
"Daaaaaddddy??? DADDY!!" Suddenly she bursts into tears, and Clint can't take it anymore. He rolls off the top of the cabinet and onto the floor, tripping over a cupboard door that Katie didn't close.
"Katie! Katie!! I'm right here, baby! Daddy's right here!" He rushes out into the hall and scoops her into him. Her little arms wrap around his neck.
He feels eyes on him, and turns to find Natasha behind him, in the kitchen doorway, and from the expression on her face he knows that she knew exactly where he had been. Katie's sobs now sound suspiciously like giggles against his shoulder. He knits his brows together. "Hey...." He begins.
"I told you, you're getting soft, Barton," Natasha grins. "But I look forward to the backrub".
-End!-