“Mommy!”
Clint looked up from his phone as the first wave of children spilled from the school, he watched the little boy who’d shouted first rushed to an omega who was going down onto her knees to sweep him up in a big hug. Clint smiled at the sight, it was cute. But of course, then he saw some of the other parents giving him the stink eye. He sighed. It wasn’t the first time and it wasn’t going to be the last, he knew it, but he did vaguely wonder what their problem was this time. Honestly, it had only been three weeks since the camp incident and only two since school had started.
Who knew elementary parents were so judgemental, gossipy sure, but all that judgement? Yikes.
“Mama!!”
“MAAAAAAAAAAM!”
Clint had just enough time to shove his phone in his back pocket before his legs were assaulted by tiny thumps. One right after the other.
Clint grinned down at the tops of two heads, one a silver blond, the other a dark auburn.
“Babies!” He gasped, swooping down to scoop the two kindergartners up in his arms.
“We’re not babies anymore Mama!” the first thunk said, Pietro.
“We’re big kids!” the second thunk said insistently, Wanda.
“Oooh you’re aaaalways gonna be my babies~” he singsonged as he kissed one head right after the other earning giggles and wriggles, then he let them slip down to the ground and took a hand in each of his, “So did you have a good day at school?”
“Yeah!” Wanda said cheerfully, “We’re making magic bottles!”
“They’re not magic,” Pietro huffed, “They just have glitter!”
“Which makes them magic!” Wanda insisted.
“Not all glitter things are magic!” Pietro insisted back.
Clint shook his head as he led his two rascal children to the car, “A magic bottle for whoever makes it magic, but what does it do?”
Wanda sniffed more imperiously than any four year old had right to, but Clint was constantly reminded of his husband by actions like that, “It’s supposed to be ‘ants-tighty re-doo-sing’,” she said proudly. Clint blinked and tried very hard not to laugh at the mispronunciation, but he was curious as to what had brought that topic up.
“Anxiety reducing? What brought that on?”
“Mary has sad days and she gets really scared sometimes, so she has a magic bottle to help.” Pietro said, Wanda nodded.
“Mr. Rogers said it would help if we all had magic bottles so no one was left out,” she added.
“Oh I see,” Clint said, and felt the need to maybe make some cookies for the art teacher, he was a very unorthodox omega, but was very concerned about the mental health of the children, which Clint thought was pretty phenomenal. He was really glad he’d been able to enroll his kids in this school.
It was a private school, and that was partly why he knew he got judged, mostly because he and his husband kept to themselves and worked a lot, and most of the time the kids stayed at the after school programs and were brought home by bus. He was pretty sure most of the parents thought his kids were ‘on scholarship’ which was an absolutely ridiculous thing to be worrying about for toddlers, let alone at all. But pretentious house spouses with nothing better to do in the day couldn’t help but gossip. Oh well, Clint wasn’t going to get his pants in a twist about it as long as his kids were kept out of it.
He was happy today because he’d been able to finish training early and come pick up the kids instead of having them go to the after school programs, and having them come running into his arms (or legs) made him overrun with joy and nothing could really dull that for him.
“Hey you two, how do you feel about picking up some dinner and going to visit daddy at work?”
“YEEEEAAAH!” they both cried out happily, making Clint cringe at how loud they were, but he laughed because technically they were using outside voices outside, they knew they couldn’t scream inside, so did what they could outside. They were definitely his kids.
Clint loaded the kids into the backseat into their booster seats, the red glitter one for Wanda and the blue and white one for Pietro, they were very specific.
Clint got them all settled then got into the driver’s seat, he noticed the group of mothers standing around the blacktop while their kids played on the playground, they were all giving him the stink eye in unison now. Yikes. He offered them a cheery wave and then drove off, snorting at the looks that got him. The last time he’d earned their ire it had been because he’d had to bail on a volunteer job for the school because something had come up, but he hadn’t done anything this time. At least, he didn’t think he had, he should probably check his schedule to double check.
The kids were still arguing in the back seat as he pulled out of the parking lot of their elementary school and he sighed in amusement, yep. Definitely his kids. As if he had any doubt. He was the one who had popped them out after all.
He made his way to the Italian restaurant he’d already ordered from across town, while it was a bit early for the kids to be having dinner, he knew they’d probably want to see their dad and they could have a small snack before bed, so it was worth it to eat with their dad, he’d been very busy the last week with work. The first few weeks of school were always a bit wild.
He picked up the food and then drove over to the university campus where his husband worked. His husband was a university professor, he taught robotics and a couple classes in engineering and physics and had been doing so for over 8 years. He had degrees in all three subjects and was kind of a genius, he also knew a lot about a few other subjects and helped in those areas when he had time, he was insanely smart and driven and could have likely gotten a teaching position at a different school with much more pay, but he’d wanted to stay in the area, so he’d taken the job for the robotics professor because it was the one he was qualified for open at the time. He had been one of the younger hires, not the youngest professor hired ever at the school, but still young enough to make him extremely popular with the students. He took it all in stride and occasionally let Clint know there may be some competition as he was sure some omegas were planning on slipping him a love potion. His sense of humor was sarcastic enough to match Clint’s they played off each other too well some days. But even with that Clint was still shocked he came home every night to him sometimes.
“Okay kiddos, let’s go, stay close to me, no running off Pietro,” he added, because he knew the long hallways of the university were a huge temptation for his speed devil of a son.
“Okay,” they both said which was not as reassuring as most might think, he had the food in one hand and Wanda’s hand in the other because of the two of them she liked having physical contact the most and took whichever parent’s hand was closest to her at the time.
They walked through the grand halls towards the staff offices, Clint waved at the assistant who was in charge of most of the professors in that hall. She was kind of like a shapeshifter, she was able to fill all of the needed positions if any extra help was needed and could do nearly anything asked of her making her indispensable. She raised her hand back at him and offered him a small smile in return as the children waved at her as well.
They arrived at his office and Clint knocked but got no answer.
“Looks like Daddy is still teaching, we’ll have to set the food up for him as a surprise, okay?”
“Yay! Daddy loves surprises!” Wanda said and Clint chuckled softly because daddy definitely didn’t love surprises most of the time, but he knew he’d be okay with this one because Clint had mentioned he’d possibly stop by.
“Alright, who’s going to set out the napkins?”
“Meee!” Pietro said, “I can do it fast!”
“Okay, and who’s going to set out the silverware?”
“I can!” Wanda said proudly, and Clint smiled at them, his husband’s office luckily had a table and Clint only had to move a couple of stacks of books and paperwork off of it to make room. While the kids set the table he set out the food, it didn't take too long which of course meant the two four-year-olds were already bored by then.
It wouldn’t hurt to let them eat first so he got them all set up and glanced at the clock, his last class was supposed to be finished at 5 today, and it was only 4:45 so he supposed he was a little early.
“Are you kiddos hungry or do you want to wait for Daddy?”
“I’m huuuungryyyyyy,” Pietro whined and Clint tried not to laugh at the dramatics.
“You’re always hungry,” he said and Pietro huffed.
“Daddy says it’s cause I’m a growing boy!”
“You’re just a whiny boy!” Wanda said back.
“I am not!” Pietro whined.
“Are too!”
“You’re a whiny girl!”
“Nu-uh! I’m a princess! Daddy said so!”
That did make Clint laugh, “Well you certainly are that,” he shook his head then looked at Wanda and ruffled her hair, making her squeak.
“Mamaaa! My ponytails!” she pouted trying to fix her pigtails and Clint laughed.
“I’m sorry baby girl, here let me fix them and then we’ll get you your food, okay?”
“Okay,” she said sniffing, he smiled as he fixed her pigtails which had already been drooping from the long day at school, Pietro meanwhile was sitting down and ready to eat.
Wanda sat down next to him and Clint pulled out the buttered pasta and chicken and started dishing it up for them, they gobbled it down quick as can be.
“Dooone!” Pietro said, “Can we go outside and play?”
“It’s starting to get dark, kiddo, I don’t think that’s a good idea and besides we have to wait for daddy, don’t you want to surprise him?”
“Oh yeah...where is he?” he asked.
“Daddy is going to come soon isn’t he?” Wanda asked, “Then we can get ice cream?” she asked, a familiar twinkle in her eye, Clint laughed.
“We’ll see, he should be here any minute,” Clint said glancing at the clock it was now 5:20, he was probably almost here, he had a bit of a walk through the campus back to his office.
When 5:30 rolled around and he still hadn’t arrived Clint grew just a bit worried. The door opened and the assistant popped in, she frowned after she looked around.
“Is he not here yet?” she asked and Clint shook his head, “Well that’s odd I know his class got out on time, maybe he got held up over something. I’ll go check.”
“I wanna come!” Wanda said, “Can I, can I?”
“I don’t mind,” she said with a small smile, she was fond of the kids, even if she’d never admit to it, Clint smiled.
“Thanks, Raven,” he said and then looked at his daughter, “You have to promise to be good-”
“I wanna go too!” Pietro whined.
“You can come too,” Raven smiled, “But you heard your mother, you have to be good.”
“That means no running in the halls,” Clint said, “And you have to listen to Miss Raven, okay?”
His children nodded, “Okay Mama,” they said in unison, he nodded back.
“Okay, be good and hurry back, I miss you already,” he teased.
“Nu-uuuuh,” Wanda laughed, “Bye Mama! We’ll bring ice cream!”
“Ice cream! Ice cream!” Pietro agreed.
Raven laughed, “I don’t know about that, but we’ll be bringing back news at least,” she said and offered him a wave, he smiled and waved back as the door closed.
He covered the food and then slumped in the chair, hoping his husband was alright, he wasn’t usually kept late, though it was possible a student had needed some clarification on something. He wasn’t that worried, just a little bit. It wasn’t like he’d have got kept behind for any other reason.
Clint sighed and rubbed at his face, he knew he was slightly paranoid, even if they weren’t doing anything wrong, and technically never had been, he was still worried and he may always be because of the past. And even then it wasn’t like they’d done anything wrong, at least not intentionally. It had just been an accident and a lack of communication. But it had worked out and he wanted to keep it that way.
In truth, he and his husband had met when Clint was still in high school. But that had been nearly a decade ago now, and honestly it wasn’t like there was any malicious intentions between them.
It wasn’t unusual for omega and alpha to hook up in the heat of the moment and then go on their merry way, it was totally legal and perfectly acceptable in society for such things to occur. But well, Clint hadn’t known his future husband was 29, and his future husband didn’t know Clint was only 17 when they’d met in a hotel bar and grill on that fateful night.
It had been an intoxicating atmosphere for them. Clint’s high school archery team had been in town for a competition which they’d just won so were in very high spirits, and the alpha had just landed his job as a professor at the local university, it had been very easy to feed off of each other’s joy and celebrate together. And it wasn’t like they’d had any reason to question each other’s ages, the alpha looked a bit younger than he was and Clint looked older than he was simply because of how muscled he was and had entered before the bouncer had arrived and started IDing people for the live music that was going to happen that night, meaning no black X on the back of his hands signifying he was underage.
With all of that to consider it was easy to let the flirting and atmosphere carry them to a hotel room and enjoy each other’s bodies.
Clint hadn’t had any regrets about it and at the time the alpha had seemed incredibly pleased, talking about it later, his husband had admitted it wasn’t typical for him to sleep with strangers, but Clint had been someone he couldn’t pass on.
It wouldn’t have mattered if they’d never seen each other again, if they’d just carried out their lives with a night of intimacy between strangers remaining that way. But of course that wasn’t what was planned in the stars for them.
A few months later Clint was visiting his brother before he shipped out again at an entirely different bar in a different part of the city and they just happened to run into each other again. Erik had been there with his coworkers originally, but buming into Clint meant there was no way he was going to go with them to the next bar. Clint ended up going home with him that night, he was pretty sure his brother had gotten too smashed to even notice.
It wasn’t until their third encounter that the truth came out, Clint spread out on the alpha’s chest after a very nice evening together and they’d just been talking, and well it was kind of obvious after they started about their lives. It had been a bit...dramatic to say the least, his future husband had freaked out, for good reason, Clint had just been shocked, he’d very honestly thought the older man had been in college, not teaching it. Clint had thought he’d been no older than twenty-five which, according to state law, was perfectly alright for them to have a physical relationship. But boy, was he bad at guessing ages it seemed. And Clint well, he was incredibly fit for a teenager, he needed to be, considering his skills in archery, so many thought he was older than he was.
They’d broken it off immediately, because well...it was technically illegal. And it wasn’t like it had been anything like a relationship, to begin with.
Clint, despite, knowing, understanding and being completely consensual of their physical relationship and 100% behind it, was still underage, and that could spell disaster for a new university professor who was hoping to get funding for some projects and he wouldn’t be able to keep any of that if there was a scandal about him in his first year of teaching. Clint didn’t want that, they were two perfectly healthy people who enjoyed each other’s company and while Clint did understand why those laws were in place he kinda hated that it applied to him in the moment.
Clint had left right after, making sure his alpha had known it was a misunderstanding because he hadn’t wanted to get him in trouble. He wanted to make sure he knew that, assuming that was probably going to be the last time he’d ever see the alpha again, which really was a shame. It had felt like it could have been something special, maybe. It had been a very firm ‘maybe’, but Clint knew it would have to stay that way, and after they’d parted he was sure that was it. There would be no time to really think about it after that because his own life was taking off. Shortly after they’d parted Clint had turned 18 and been well on his way to graduating and even more importantly to him; he was in the running to go to the worlds for archery. If he won Nationals which he’d qualified for with the competition win, he’d then be going to Worlds and if he did well there he could potentially be recruited to the US team for the Olympics which he could compete in only a year and a half later. He had a lot to focus on, and getting distracted by an alpha was probably not the best thing for his training. And besides, they would probably never see each other again, even after three encounters they still didn’t have each other’s numbers. But it was fine.
Life went on.
Clint won Nationals. And then he won World’s, he was a shoo-in for the Olympic team, sadly however, his mother died while he was still training. It was hard to carry on after that, but he did, he knew he wouldn’t be making her happy if he just quit. So after more training, dedication and pain than he thought he could bear he won Gold in the Olympics for individual archer and team archery.
At 18, nearly 19, he was the youngest archer to win a medal for both, he was very proud of himself, and he knew that if his mom were still alive to have seen it, she would have been proud too. He was pretty sure his brother was too, but he was still serving in the military so it was hard to know sometimes. His hometown had been pretty proud and he’d made sure to stop by and thank them for the support, it was a small town so they had little to celebrate sometimes. But after all of that, he had no reason to stay there, and it wasn’t like there was a training facility to use so he left for the city.
But regardless of the downfalls and pain, Clint was doing pretty good, he’d gotten sponsors for when he was in the Olympics, and while he was still planning to compete in the next one happening in four years, he needed a job to afford other things, like a place to live and food.
He managed to find an apartment in an area by the college campus in the city, it was cheaper than some of the other places he’d looked at, and he managed to get a job at a coffee shop nearby, he was doing pretty good, even if he now felt like things were...missing.
He carried on with life, working and training as hard as he could, and then one day.
The alpha walked back into his life.
It was a Tuesday, a normal school day, people milling about doing homework and socializing, the coffee machines purring away, Clint heard the door ding on the bell as it opened and looked up to greet the person who had just walked in and froze.
The alpha froze too.
It was kind of like the world stilled for a moment as they made eye contact across the coffee shop. Clint never thought he’d see him again, about now, facing him after so long and suddenly overcome with a brief second of possibility. Clint wasn’t going to pass it up, not if this was his second chance. The alpha stared at him for a brief second longer after the world began spinning again, as if deciding something then he walked up to the counter, Clint quickly and smoothly took over taking orders, making his coworker roll her eyes at him. Clint offered her a wink and then smirked up at the alpha.
“Hi there, what can I get you, handsome?” he asked, putting on his best customer service smile with a flirty twist.
The alpha laughed like he couldn't help himself, “I’ll take a large medium roast coffee, with a touch of cream.”
“Any sugar in that?” Clint asked, smirking, the alpha laughed.
“Not today,” he slid over his credit card, and underneath it, a business card with a phone number written on it, “But...maybe another time?”
Clint’s grin probably took up his whole face, “Can do,” he replied and slipped the other card into his pocket.
He felt a thrill of excitement in his belly at the thought that maybe, their story wasn’t quite over yet.
Erik. His name was Erik. Clint had known it after their second time together, but it was easier to consider him ‘the alpha’ when he’d thought he’d never see him again. Not to get attached. But now… now they were going on dates. Now Clint was staying for breakfast after a night together. Now Clint was getting to know him. Now the ‘maybe’ was firmly a ‘yes’.
Erik told him a bit about himself, but he didn’t really care to talk about much of his past, he came from a Jewish household, his parents had been supportive and loving, but unfortunately they’d both passed in a plane crash when he’d been in undergrad. He’d only had a few partners previously but they hadn’t worked out, and had been focused on his work instead. Clint was a variable he hadn’t accounted for, and now since he was established and Clint was well...legal. He’d thought, maybe it was time to give things a shot.
Clint in return was able to talk about how his father had died when he was three from a car accident, his mother had raised him and his brother all by herself until she’d died shortly before Clint had made it to the Olympics from an infection. His brother was bad at the whole ‘feelings’ thing, being a big bad alpha and all, and had joined the army right out of high school, but he had made a point to come visit them when he got the chance to. He had a few relationships himself but, like Erik, they hadn’t worked out, and he’d been so focused on the Olympics it wasn’t like he had time for that. Though with the whole Olympian thing he had had a few offers when he’d been in the news. Clint didn’t think his life was all that spectacular, but there had been a little piece about him in a few magazines before and after the Olympics. Luckily people were pretty fickle when it came to Olympian popularity and hardly anyone recognized him anymore.
“I watched you, while you were at the Olympics.”
“You did?”
“Yes, I don’t usually pay much mind to them, but I was putting on background noise as I was doing research for some papers and just happened to catch a glimpse of you right before you shot. I thought it was a bit of a stroke of luck.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“Because I’d just been thinking about you,” a small wry smile played on his lips. “I thought of you often...after our last day together.”
“Yeah?” Clint asked, he hated how eager he sounded.
“Yes, quite often, it was hard at first but then I realized it would spoil everything if I let a law that was put in place to prevent children from being taken advantage of change how I felt about things. It is there for good reason, but seeing as neither of us were doing anything nefarious, the law was perhaps not meant for you. But I don’t know if there’s any laws that apply for almost-adults who like to make bad decisions.”
Clint’s jaw dropped, “Excuse you!” he said and then laughed, “Did you just call yourself a bad decision?”
“Absolutely.”
That made Clint laugh harder, then he grinned, “Guess that means I’ll be making a lot of bad decisions in the future.”
“I sure hope so.”
Clint beamed at him, at the alpha who was probably one of the best things to happen to him. He sure hoped there would be so much more in the future.
And they did, they dated for a year. Erik teaching and studying at the university. Clint training and working, and more training, intending to return to the Olympics.
“You should move in with me,” Erik said one afternoon while they were both vegged out on the couch after long days, Clint had some ice on his arm because he’d maaaybe overextended a little on a draw and he wanted to be careful. Clint had looked up at him in surprise.
“What?”
“Your lease is up in a few months, you’re here almost every night anyway, it’s closer to your training center, and I can drive you to work, it’s just logical.”
Clint stared at some more before his lips curled up into a smile and he leaned over to kiss his alpha gently on the lips.
“That sounds amazing,” he said softly. “I’d love to.”
It had seemed like the most logical step but it was still a big one, and at first they were cautious, but when it seemed things were actually going to work out, life went on smoothly, they worked well. Clint liked having someone he could make breakfast for. Seeing as he had to train and worked at a coffee shop, he had to be up early, even if he absolutely hated it and it was the worst thing ever, he did it. And if doing so meant he got to see Erik all sleep ruffled as he shuffled into the kitchen to grab the cup of coffee Clint set out for him, it seemed worth it.
When he no longer had to pay rent he was able to cut back a little bit on hours to dedicate more time to his archery. It kind of felt like his life was finally settling into something real. Something solid and something he didn’t know he’d yearned for. His days bled together, archery coffee and his alpha, it was almost like a dream. It really was a dream when after two years of dating, his alpha proposed.
Clint blinked at the ring presented to him, then at the alpha, “...really? You want- really?”
“Yes, really.” Erik replied with a small amused smile the same one he wore when he looked at children or puppies, which was funny, seeing as they were both naked curled up together in bed. Erik had pulled the ring from the side table, and asked if he wanted to get married. His eyebrows drew together.
“Do you not want to?”
“No- I mean yes! Of course! I just-”
“You just nothing,” he narrowed his eyes and then reached up to take his chin gently, “There has not been anyone like you in my life...I want to keep you in it.”
Clint laughed and threw his arms around the alpha’s neck, nuzzling him in joy his eyes watering from the joy, “I’ll be here forever and ever and ever and eveeerrrr.”
Erik wrapped his arms around Clint, “That makes my life easy then, I won’t have to find any other incorrigible delinquents to seduce.”
“Puh-lease, I’m the one who did the seducing,” Clint laughed, kissing his cheek, “And who are you calling incorrigible?”
“And yet you had no problem with ‘delinquent’,” he chuckled, putting his own nose in the omega’s throat.
Clint laughed, his whole body flushed with happiness as he took the ring out of his alpha’s hand to look at it. It was simple, silver with a slight purple sheen. He smiled, his alpha knew him so well.
“I told you, I was the one who did the seducing,” he grinned, slipping the ring on feeling pleased when he could feel his alpha’s laughter.
Best proposal ever.
They were married in a small ceremony, only their closest friends were invited, a few of Erik’s coworkers and Clint’s fellow Olymians, Clint’s brother too, but he was still overseas. Small and simple, it suited them.
They were happy together, Clint didn’t really think his life could be much better. He continued to work and train for the upcoming games, he already had his spot on the team, and trained with his teammates quite a lot. He spent time with his husband, they went out, stayed in, shared time with each other, it was a great life.
A few months before the Olympics, Clint started getting ill. Every morning he’d wake up to get sick, and could barely keep anything down, at first he thought it was some kind of bug, but when he went to the doctor, turned out that wasn’t the case at all. He was pregnant.
It was a bit of a surprise for both him and his alpha, Clint, for most of his life had been on the pill and had never had any problems. He’d had his heat on schedule, which his alpha had helped him through like he always did, and things had carried on like normal, it was all something they’d done before, but apparently something had stuck this time. Because here he was, pregnant. He couldn’t say he wasn’t excited or he was upset because he was excited at the idea of having a baby with his alpha, and he wasn’t upset that it was going to change the course of his life a little, but still it did make things a bit more difficult.
According to his OBGYN, he wasn’t due until after the games, so he could still compete, and well Clint was kind of stubborn and said he’d compete either way, which apparently wasn’t the best thing to say to his doctor who then put him on a very strict regimen.
He was able to train and compete as long as he was careful, and that included following the dietary requirements and exercise restrictions the doctor had set forth. Clint would be carefull, really, people didn’t need to watch out for him when he worked out and trained because he was very happy to be pregnant and wanted the baby to be born safe and healthy, but he wasn’t going to let it stop him from getting more gold medals, he was a strong and powerful omega dammit, he could be a mom and an olympian. There were plenty of others out there, and there were plenty of omega who had been pregnant while competing, but well, apparently he was surrounded by worry warts.
“Just as long as you’re careful,” he alpha said with a sigh, knowing even with his insistence Clint would do what he wanted. Clint kissed his nose.
“I will be careful, I’ll listen to my body like my doctor said, I’m already doing the exercises and getting the diet in order, and adjusting my schedule for everything. I’ll do everything I’m supposed to, and I will be careful, honest, I don’t want anything happening to me or the baby, you know that.”
“You’re right, I know, I’m just…”
“A worrywart.”
“Yes...I suppose, I can’t help it, it’s my job to worry about my omega,” he muttered pulling Clint in close to wrap his arms around him, Clint sighed in acceptance, he rested his chin on Erik’s shoulder.
“I know, really, everything will be fine...buuut I’ma get me my medals,” he said and he felt his alpha huff in fond amusement, he pulled back to look at him.
“You’re ridiculous, why did I marry you again?”
“I’m cute.”
“Ah yes, that’s right.”
Clint beamed and brushed their noses together, “We’re going to have to turn your office into a nursery.”
“Or...we find a bigger house,” he mused, “It’s not like we can’t afford it, perhaps you can have a range in the backyard, and I can have an actual office…”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
“I have the feeling you may already have some ideas as to where,” Clint grinned, pecking his nose again.
“Perhaps,” he replied, easily making Clint laugh.
“Alright then, I’ll leave it to you, you just tell me if you need anything and I’ll be there,” he hummed, his alpha pressed their lips together gently.
“You just keep thinking about the baby, I’ll take care of the rest.”
“You got it.”
Clint did make sure to keep himself healthy and fit, listening to his body and taking things easy when he needed to, he had more check ups at the doctor than he could count to make sure everything was progressing as things should have been. Overall it wasn’t a bad pregnancy, there were a few ups and downs, but it was good. They didn’t want to know the gender of the baby before it was born so made sure to keep it a surprise, and that was what they’d told the reporters who had come to interview the team, it had been far more exciting for them when they found out he was pregnant, but he kept it all to himself because well, after one ultrasound it was clear that knowing the gender was really not as much of an excitement when there were two babies, not that he’d told anyone that.
But then the Olympic trials were on them and soon enough so were the Olympics. At eight months pregnant Clint was quite a sight as he waddled in the parade and onto the field surrounded by all the other athletes, but Kate stuck by him, insisting she wasn’t going to leave because she knew he’d fall down if she did. He knew how protective she would never admit to being and let her be.
But he still got pulled aside for an interview before the games, the fact he was expecting was apparently big news and had resulted in a lot of good press for the American team and a few magazine cover shots of him posed in full draw with his pregnant belly in full view. He knew he had a lot of people wanting to interview him because of that, but he was only going to do one, on the grounds of it being too stressful for the baby. After all he’d gotten special permission to have his mate near him so as to keep him and the baby calm for the entirety of the games.
He was pulled aside into one of the little areas they had for interviews, Erik standing off to the side watching seriously.
“Hello everyone! Welcome to this year's Summer Olympic games, I’m here with Clint Barton, two time gold medalist from last Summer Olympic’s games,” the interviewer started and this was why Clint had chosen her, she was going to build up to questions. “Hi Clint, how are you feeling?”
“Excited,” Clint grinned, “I’ve been training hard and am really looking forward to competing.”
“I’m sure! You won four years ago in a landslide, it’s apparently made a lot of your fellow competitors step up their game.”
“Glad to hear it! I love going against other skilled archers, this year should be awesome,” he nodded.
“That’s great, we’ll be sure to keep our eyes on you this year, but of course that’s not the only thing we’ll be keeping our eye on,” she said smiling and he laughed and put his hand on his belly, he was pretty big. He’d had to get a jacket that was bigger at the waist for it.
“Yep, I’m sure everyone will be looking forward to my waddles,” he drawled and she laughed softly.
“So you’re excited for the baby too?” the interviewer asked, smiling genuinely happy at the prospect of a baby.
“Oh yeah,” he said, “My mate and I are really looking forward to meeting them,” he said, “We still don’t know the gender, we’re waiting.”
“Ooooh, but we heard a rumor you had an announcement! Surely it was a gender!”
“Aha, yeah, well see there was a condition to that...I would only make the announcement if I won gold,” he winked at the camera, “So I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
The interviewer laughed, “Aaaaah, sneaky! Well, thank you so much, Mr. Barton-”
“Wait first, I have a question,” he turned to his side and looked seriously at the camera, “Does this angle make me look fat?”
“Uuuh,” the poor interviewer looked at the cameraman for help, but that only made Clint burst into laughter.
It had been a good interview, meme’d into eternity, Clint had scrolled through them that night snuggled up to his alpha in the hotel room giggling like a child. He couldn’t help it though, he was so excited to be there and be there with Erik. He was so utterly thrilled to have him here, he was luckily on summer break so wasn’t missing any classes.
He was there with Clint for all the other interviews and practices, on the sidelines silently sending him support, which Clint absolutely adored and preened at any time he caught sight of themselves on playbacks. He loved having Erik supporting him. He didn’t need him to be cheering the loudest or hardest, just having him there was enough.
He felt like it made it even better than last time having him here, it was wild that so much had changed for him in four years, but he loved it, it was exactly where he was supposed to be in life.
Standing on the line, his mate supporting him as he raised his bow and let the crowd cheers fade away and it was just him and the target, he took a breath and then released. The arrow flew true, straight to the bullseye.
And with that, he got another perfect score, and after the ranking completed. Another gold medal. The same thing happened in the group competition. And they had added another bracket this year, mixed pairs. Which meant he and Kate also earned themselves gold medals.
He was so excited it was easy for him to ignore the soft threads of pain throbbing in his back periodically. He rushed to his alpha after all was said and done and was happily swept up in his arms, kissing him as hard as he dared in front of cameras.
“Congratulations,” he said softly against Clint’s lips.
“Couldn’t have done it without you,” Clint replied, making the alpha snort, then pecked his lips again.
“We both know that’s not true,” he mused.
“Psh, totally is, I’m heeelpless without you”, he said making the alpha snort again in laughter, not believing it for a second, and then Clint frowned as he got a more persistent pain in the lower part of his belly, “Ah.” He gently placed his hand low on his belly, where the pain seemed to stall a moment.
“Are you okay?” Erik asked, concerned eyebrows going down.
“Umm-”
“Mr. Barton!” A familiar voice called as the interviewer from before came rushing over, “Congratulations!”
“Ah, thanks,” he said, offering a smile, trying to hide the pain he was suddenly feeling a lot more now that the adrenaline seemed to be fleeing his system to make way for anticipation.
“You did absolutely amazing this year! Really it was something else to watch, but of course we all have that one question on our minds of your announcement! We were hoping we could be the first to hear it,” she said, slightly breathless.
“Uh…” he said, “Right...about that,” he said, taking a bit of a deep breath and then wincing, “Think it’s gonna have to wait. Sorry.”
“But-” she sounded so very distraught, but Clint was a little too preoccupied to feel too sorry.
“Clint?” his alpha asked, now definitely concerned. Clint was definitely feeling it now and breathing shallowly, Erik’s hands were hovering over him.
“Yeah...i-it’s gonna have to wait...cause I ah- I am definitely going into labor,” he said, taking in a short breath and letting it out as more pain laced through him.
There was a small pause at that, and then it brought on a whirlwind of activity. His teammates had been nearby as well, also relishing in the victory, and many onlookers had overheard, which caused a wave of gossip to start. But luckily it was good that news traveled fast and they had apparently been prepared for this as it only took a few minutes before the paramedics got to him after they heard and got him loaded up and on his way to the hospital while the US Embassy was being notified. Erik was by his side the whole time.
After 20 gruelling hours with a bit of a scare, seeing as baby number one came into the world feet first, but turned out to be just fine, he was able to relish in the reality that his sweet babies, Pietro and Wanda were born. It was quite exciting, and because Clint was Clint, he took them up on the podium with him when he received his medals and he took them to the closing ceremonies to show them off. He was able to have all of his proudest achievements with him at one time. His alpha among them, even if he wasn’t up there with him, he kissed his wedding ring and then each baby’s head. He was sure he’d never feel prouder than he did in that moment.
It was good.
However despite taking them to the ceremonies, Clint was utterly exhausted and they went home as soon as they could to relax, his alpha took time off from work to stay home with them for a few months.
They were able to continue their life, happy and together.
~Present~
Clint looked at the clock again and frowned, it was 5:45, okay he was kind of worried, but if he’d been at home he wouldn’t really have known, sometimes he stayed late to work on projects, but he said he’d be home on time today.
He pulled his phone out to see if there were any messages, his husband didn’t typically have his phone on during class because he took his job seriously and Clint knew to just call Raven and she could tell him in person if there was some kind of emergency. There was no message.
The door opened as he frowned down at his phone allowing a burst of noise in as his husband walked in, black hair slicked back graying along the sides, eyes sharp but soft as he looked down at his daughter on one hip and his son’s hand in his other hand as they both noisily and excitedly talked about their day. Clint felt the relief he wouldn’t admit to wash through him at the sight of it.
“Mama!” Pietro said, bouncing, “We found Daddy!”
“I can see that,” Clint laughed as he stood up and moved over to them, he pecked his husband on the lips, “Everything okay?”
“Grad students,” he said in explanation with a long-suffering sigh that made Clint grin, “They all needed something from me today, I hope it doesn’t persist for the whole year, we’ve only been in session for two weeks.”
“I’m sure things will calm down, and then go worse when finals approach,” Clint mused, earning a look from his husband.
“So reassuring,” he drawled and Clint grinned,
“We brought Daddy dinner!” Pietro said, he wouldn’t be deterred apparently, he tugged him over to a seat.
“Oh it looks wonderful,” he said as he sat down, a child now on either side of him on the bench there. Clint watched them, his heart so very full of fondness at the sight.
“So kiddos,” he started, waiting until they looked up at him, “You remember how I’ve been pretty busy these last few weeks?”
“Yeah, you haven’t picked us up in aaaaaaageeees,” Pietro pouted and then squeaked when his father poked his nose.
“I picked you up today,” Clint pointed out.
“Yeah but that was just today,” Wanda pouted.
“Your mother has been training very hard lately, he has been showing a level of commitment to something he loves most people only dream of, but has allowed him to be at the peak of human condition and earned him something very few people get,” he said in his pompous professor voice, making Clint blush despite it.
“Hush you,” he said, then he looked at the kids again, “What your dad means is that after all that training, I'm going to be going to the Olympics.”
“Oh yeah!” Wanda said perking up, “You’re gonna shoot arrows! You said last time”
“That’s right, good listening,” Clint praised and she preened. “But that means I’m going to be gone for a couple weeks starting next week, you’ll be able to watch me on the TV, and then I’ll be right back. But that means you’ll have to be extra good for daddy.”
“Daddy isn’t going too?” Pietro asked, sounding both worried and confused.
“No, I’ll be right here, someone has to look after you helions,” he said fondly, wrapping an arm around each twin and giving them a squeeze making them both giggle.
“But what about mommy, who’s going to be with him?” Wanda asked, happily clinging to her father’s hand even as she looked at her mother in concern.
“You remember Kate?” Clint said, and both children nodded, they liked Kate, she was fun, and also pretended like she didn’t like them, but when Mommy and Daddy weren’t looking she snuck them candy. “She’ll be with me, we’ll be shooting arrows together so you can watch us.”
“Well...okay,” Pietro said, his little face still frowning in confusion, “But who’s going to read us our stories before bed?”
“Your daddy can read you know,” Clint teased. “He’s very smart.”
“Daddy doesn’t do voices,” Pietro huffed.
“I like it when Daddy reads to me,” Wanda said primly. “He has an ‘am-be-ence’ voice.”
“Where did you learn that word?” Erik asked, clearly amused, “It’s a very advanced word.”
“Morgan, she says her Papa plays AB/CD for ‘am-be-ence’,” she said, “She said it means it makes him feel good.”
Clint had to try very hard not to laugh and knew better than to catch his husband’s eye, because he had a feeling anyone who used AC/DC as ambiance was a character. He’d have to keep his eye out next time to see who Morgan was also, it was nice to know his kids were making friends.
“Well she’s right, so Daddy’s voice makes you feel good?” he asked and she nodded then hugged his side, which Clint did catch his eye at. Smiling softly.
Everytime the children showed him affection, Erik always seemed a little surprised. Clint had no idea why, he was actually very good with them, and it was clear he utterly adored them. But Clint knew his husband did keep a lot of his feelings close to his chest, so had never really asked about it, it wasn’t problematic so didn’t seem pertinent knowledge.
“Well, I’m glad,” Erik said softly, squeezing her lightly.
“Daddy, Dad, I like your voice too,” Pietro said quickly, standing on the bench so he could look his father in the eye, obviously not wanting to be left out.
“I’m glad to hear it, now sit,” he said amused, patting the boy’s bum to encourage him to follow directions.
Pietro huffed but did as told and sat there while Erik finished eating.
Clint couldn’t help but grin his face off at it all, he was just so happy. He loved his life so much.
“Alright, kiddos, let’s clean up while Daddy gathers his things and we can head home,” Clint said smiling.
“Clint,” Erik said, “Have you eaten?” he asked, gesturing at the other covered meal in the plastic container.
“Oh, no, my stomach is kind of queasy, I think one of the ingredients in the smoothie Kate made me earlier disagreed with me, I’ll just eat later, you can put that in your fridge for lunch tomorrow,” he said, flapping his hand at it, making his husband frown, “I’m fine, honest.”
“You can’t be getting sick a week before the games,” Erik said, and Clint stuck his tongue out.
“You sound like Natalia, I’m fine, really, she even took my temperature,” he promised, “I really do think it was just something I ate.”
Erik sighed, “Alright, but be careful,” he said and then scooped up one twin so he could slide off of the bench, and then he scooped up the other, “Come along, you two, I think I heard something about ice cream.”
“YAY!” Wanda gasped and screeched simultaneously.
“I WANT CHOOOOCOOOLAAAATE!” Pietro screeched as well, making both of their parents flinch at the noise.
“You brought that on yourself,” Clint said laughing. “Inside voices please!”
“So I did,” he replied but didn’t seem all that bothered because the children were happy. Clint laughed softly and threw the trash in the bin, set the extra food in the minifridge his husband had under one of his desks and then led the way out.
They waved at Raven who was also packing up to leave, “Good luck, Clint,” she said, “We’ll be watching for you.”
“Thanks,” he smiled, then took one of the twins from his husband so they could all head out together and go get ice cream.
The Olympics came quickly and Clint was a bit sad to leave his family behind as he’d prefer to have them there with him, but he was the one who had insisted they all stay considering school was already started and the twins were already well integrated into class, it wouldn’t do to take them out for so long when they’d only been going for a few weeks at this point and had made friends and all that jazz. So no, he went with his team and left it at that, he made sure to videocall them every single night before bed and every morning when he could catch them in time.
He was fairly lucky as this year the archery wasn’t for a few more days, so he was able to train with the team. He very studiously ignored how he was still feeling sick some days, it never really lasted long, but it did concern him just a little bit. He’d worry about it after the games though, there was only another week and then he’d be back home with his family.
He was halfway through his first round of shots when he had a sudden urge to get sick. It jerked him enough that he hesitated long enough for people to notice. He took a deep breath and forced the feeling to pass, then continued on. He had a streak dammit, he was not going to ruin it.
And he didn’t, once again he came in first for the individual men’s archery, but it was getting to be a more narrow margin between him and one of the archers from Finland, and an even narrower one between Finland and Canada. He honestly loved seeing the others grow too, and normally stuck around to watch them but the moment his bow was no longer drawn and in resting position, the nausea came back with a vengeance.
He rushed to the nearest trashcan and lost his lunch and then his protein shake followed quickly after.
“Oh fuck me,” he whispered, if he was getting sick...dammit, there were still six days left before the closing ceremonies.
His handler came over a few minutes later holding up his phone which was lit up, “I think it’s your husband calling.”
He cringed, oh dear. The husband was watching the live feed. He sighed, waving Kate and Natalia off, they’d been rushing over to him the moment they saw what was going on.
“What’s wrong?” Erik demanded in his ear, he sighed, but smiled despite himself. Erik showed his love in small things, like being a worrywart and Clint appreciated it.
“Nothing, I’m fine, I just ate some-”
“You did not, I know how you eat during the games, Clint, I was there last time, you are incredibly particular because you don’t want anything risking your shot,” he said and Clint groaned, there was another thing about Erik’s love language, he paid attention.
“I- okay, you’re right, it probably wasn’t anything I ate, I think I’m just coming down with a bug, but I’m sure I’ll make it, it's fine, I’ll rest the moment I’m home,” He assured. Erik was quiet for a long time.
“...your heat was six weeks ago,” Erik finally said, and Clint blinked, what did- no way.
“No way. We used protection,” he said weakly, they always did, they had two hellions already running around, they were perfectly content with their children, they’d discussed it.
“I know,” Erik sighed, “But...this is very reminiscent of when you found out about the twins,” he said and Clint realized he was very much right about that.
“....shit,” Clint whispered, “I- I don’t know what to do.”
“Right now? Nothing, sweetheart,” Erik said softly, “Find one of the EMTs, ask for something for nausea, and carry on and then come home with your medals. We’ll figure the rest out together.”
Clint laughed, and then tried very hard to not let his tears spill over, but that was a losing battle, he clutched his bow to his chest and his phone to his ear, and let himself happy cry for a moment.
He was so so lucky to be so loved.
“I love you,” he said into the phone.
“I love you too,” Erik replied, “Now go get some rest.”
“Kay,” he said and hung up the phone, taking a deep breath he stuck it back in his pocket.
“Clint? What’s wrong?” a new voice asked an accent creeping in on the words, oh boy.
“Ummmm, well nothing is wrong persay...just...um…” he rubbed the back of his head and glanced around, trying to make sure no one was within earshot, “...do you think there’s a place to get a pregnancy test nearby?”
Natalia stared at him for a full fifteen seconds before bursting into laughter, she reached forward and grasped his face so she could pulls his head down and kiss his forehead.
“Durak,” she said fondly, and Clint frowned at her.
“Heeey, I know what that one means,” he whined, she smirked and taped his nose.
“Go to the paramedics you silly boy,” she instructed, “I will meet you in your hotel room in an hour with what you wish.”
“Thank you,” he said just as Kate took her place, she shook her head at him. Her pony tail bounced as she swung it over her shoulder.
“You are ridiculous,” she said, “Only you would get-”
“SSSSHHHH,” Clint slapped a hand over the alpha’s mouth, she only looked amused, “I don’t know for sure yet, but I don’t want everyone to know!”
“Alright alright,” she said, removing his hand, she took his bow and then poked his shoulder, “Come on, I’ll escort you to the paramedics, they’ll want to check you out regardless, to make sure you’re not contagious.”
“Oh joy,” he sighed and let her take him over to the EMTs who had been already standing nearby after hearing what happened.
They checked him over thoroughly, made sure he wasn’t feverish, despite all of his protests, until he of course spilled the reason he thought he’d gotten sick, then they’d happily provided some pregnancy safe nausea meds.
Kate then dragged him back up to their rooms where she turned on the TV immediately to see the scores, because she was just as competitive as Clint was.
“HA! Still got it,” she crowed and squished him in a tight hug, “Even barfing out your guts.”
“Ewww,” he laughed, but couldn’t help but feel pleased, “What can I say? I am the best~!”
“So far,” she replied, amused, “Feeling any better?”
“Yeah, I am actually, at least there’s only one more event,” he breathed, and leaned back on his bed, only to sit up again when he heard the door open.
“I have your tests,” Natalia said, holding up a bag, Clint stared.
“It’s been like ten minutes, how did you- you know what, I don’t want to know,” he shook his head, Russians were scary, best not to ask when you didn’t want to know the answer. She smirked, like she knew what he was thinking.
He took the bag and moved into the bathroom, ten minutes later he was back out feeling both giddy and flummoxed.
“I’m pregnant,” he said and Kate squealed and threw her arms around him.
“Aaah! I knew it! You’re always pregnant at the games!” she laughed, and Clint poked her cheek.
“I am not! I wasn’t the first time I competed!” he pointed out.
“You weren’t married then either, doesn’t count,” she grinned, “Soon you’ll have as many kids as you do medals.”
“Oh god, please no,” he choked on a laugh, “I think this is gonna be it.”
“Well fine, I basically have to live vicariously through you as Auntie Kate,” she sighed, “I’m never gonna have kids.”
“Well you’re more than welcome to babysit whenever you like,” Clint said sweetly.
“Okay, maybe not that vicariously,” she mused, making Clint laugh, then he grinned.
“I’m gonna have another baby,” he said giddy with joy suddenly.
“Erik knows?” Natalia asked, her head cocked to the side, Clint nodded.
“He sort of knew before I did,” he laughed, “That’s what I get for marrying a genius.”
“Of course,” she let out a soft breath then came over and cupped his cheeks, “You are pleased then?”
“Yeah, at least this time I’m not in danger of going into labor,” he grinned, “That was not a fun experience.”
“I’ll say, it was nerve wracking waiting to hear about it,” Kate shook her head, “But this sounds like it’ll be way better, you’ll be home for it.”
“Yeah, it should be nice, I’ll be sure to keep you guys up to date,” he promised.
“I appreciate that,” Natalia said, kissing his forehead, “As I will likely be back in Russia, I must return to my home rink to continue my own training.”
“Oh good point,” Clint mused, “I’ll have to come visit you some time, since you usually come to me, I haven’t seen Buck in ages either.”
“He does ask about you, and is still convinced he could beat you in a shooting competition,” she said fondly.
“He’s more than welcome to try,” Clint grinned, then he looked down as his phone vibrated again, this time with a video call, he noted that the time zone clocks he had on the face of his phone noted it was about 7am where they were, which meant they were getting up to get ready for school, Erik had woken up even earlier to watch him, it seemed. Uhg that man, Clint loved him so much.
“Aaah, my darling helions have awoken it seems,” he mused and accepted the call, “Hellooo~”
“MAM!” Pietro chirped, “We saw! We saaaaw!”
“You’re gonna win Mama!” Wanda cheered, her face pressed cheek to cheek with her brother’s as they both tried to press their noses to the phone. Clint laughed fondly at them but also hoped they’d just seen the recap and not the actual moment after of him getting sick, he knew that likely would not have gone over well.
“I’m sure going to try,” he promised, “Are you two behaving for daddy?”
“Yes!” Pietro said insistently.
“Not even a little bit,” another voice said from off camera sounding fond.
“Yeah huh! I am!” Wanda said, pouting, “Pietro is being bad!”
“Am not!”
“Are too!”
“Okay you two, not this early in the morning please,” Erik sighed and took the phone back from them, looking a bit tired but still perfectly okay, “Go finish getting ready for school then you can talk more to your mother.”
“Fiiiine,” they both scampered off and Clint was muffling his giggles behind his hand, those kids were the best.
“How are you doing?” Erik finally asked and Clint took a breath to calm himself.
“I’m...I’m good, I...I took a test,” he said, pressing his lips together, “You were right.”
Erik smiled, his face soft and affectionate, “Ready to do it all again?”
“Oh yeah, it’ll be great, this time I can take it a little easier too,” he shrugged, “You ready to have another squishy baby around?”
“You know...I think I am,” he mused, his lips quirking, “More ready to have you home, however.”
Clint smiled, “Less than a week now and I’ll be on the first flight out,” he promised, “You know I always come back to you,” he winked. Erik laughed.
“That you do, I couldn’t get rid of you even if I wanted to,” he teased, Clint nodded seriously.
“It’s true, you’re stuck with me foreeeeveeeeer,” he wiggled his hand with his wedding band, which only made the alpha laugh more.
They talked a bit more until the kids came back and they babbled a mile a minute to Clint, mentioning something about a ‘show and tell’ and ‘Career day’ and they wanted him to be back in time for that because he had the coolest job ever and more and more and Clint smiled fondly over their heads to their father whose lap had been hijacked as he was still holding the phone. Erik smiled back, clearly just as happy to be there as Clint was to see it.
Soon enough they had to go to school and Erik to work and Clint to bed, but only after he was teased mercilessly by Kate and Natalia for being adorable.
The rest of the games went by smoothly, and he was asked if he was doing okay by a reporter and he was able to answer truthfully that he was perfectly alright, he’d just experienced a bit of nausea. That of course led to more than a few theories from adamant fans, Clint wasn’t too concerned though. He was ready to finish up, get some more medals, and then head home to his family.
He realized on his the plane ride home, gold medals in his luggage, that his life had been full of accidents that had worked out in the end. Happy accidents really.
This baby had been an accident, as had the twins, and even meeting Erik. Some very big moments in his life that led to his heart being so happy. He wasn’t sure what he’d have done without them all in his life.
As he walked into his warm home right into the arms of his husband, with little arms and happy shrieks somewhere around his waist, he knew he’d never give it up, as accidental as much of it had been, it was worth holding onto.
Epilogue
“Welcome everyone, I’m so glad you all could make it to Career day,” Miss Frost said, smiling at all of the assembled parents. “I can see we have quite a few different types of careers in class, who wants to go first- oh Pietro that was a fast hand, alright why don’t you go first, and Wanda, would it be easier for you to have both of your parents come up at the same time?”
“Yeah!” Both twins snagged a parents hand and dragged them up to the front, Clint could see a few of the parents that liked to give him the stink eye trying hard not to do so now, he’d heard along the grapevine from another parent that most of them didn’t like him because they apparently didn’t think mother’s should be working? It was stupid but he wasn’t going to change for them.
“This is my daddy, he’s super smart!” Wanda started, pointing at Erik, “He teaches at a big fancy school!”
“Yes,” Erik said, “I’m a professor at one of the universities here, I teach engineering, robotics and physics, which are all types of sciences. I teach students how to understand the universe in new and interesting ways, or build new things to help humankind in any way we may need. I’m sure I’ll see some of you attending school oneday.”
“I wanna go!” many of the children murmured excitedly, Erik answered a few questions and handed out little mini pens and pads with the name of the university on them to the kids, which went over pretty well.
“And this is my mommy, he’s the bestest archer in the whole wooorld!” Pietro said quickly in excitement.
“Nu-uh, they did the ‘Lympics on TV! They was all arch’ry champions!” a little girl insisted.
“Remember not to interrupt Kaylie,” Miss Frost said in admonishment.
“Sorry,” she murmured, “But they did!”
“That they did, everyone did really well,” Clint grinned, “And I don’t know if I’d say I was the best, but I’m definitely the one with the most gold medals,” he shrugged, the Team USA Jacket that they’d worn this year now obvious.
“That was you?!” one of the parents gasped, and many eyes zeroed in on him.
“Yeah, that’s what I do, I train six days a week for long hours to perfect and hone my skills to be one of the best archers on the planet, it’s pretty intense stuff, but I’d say it pays off. I’ve been to the Olympics three times and won gold at every single one of them,” he explained.
“Wooooooooow!” the kids gasped.
“That’s amazing! You went this year?”
“Yeah! You were on TV! I ‘member!” another kid gasped.
Clint grinned to see the wonder and awe in all of their eyes, he liked being able to talk to kids about pursuing dreams and all that. But what he found amusing was now that the cat was out of the bag, as it were, he could see that omega who had been judging him previously were looking at him with a new light. Most of them probably wanted to take advantage of his celebrity status now, but he didn’t care.
It seemed like another happy little accident had worked out in his favor.
He shared an amused look with his husband and laughed, life was so weird sometimes.
But it was great all the same.