Chapter 5
Clint was tired even though he’d been awake for an hour. He was sitting at the kitchen table, nose deep in his nursing books as he continued studying for his three exams this week. The Omega was on his third cup of coffee - partly because he was still so tired and partly (or mostly) cause Bucky was at work and couldn’t tell him no.
Wade was outside with Lucky, though Clint could still hear them since the back door to the patio was wide open. It’s what Clint agreed to in order to keep his sanity. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the pup, cause even with all the history this poor pup has had - he was still a great kid. It was more that Clint was just already stressed about school and sleepy and didn’t have the mental capacity to fully focus on his foster pup.
Said ball of energy burst his way back into the house, finally putting a smile on Clint’s face as he watched the pup and their dog happily come over to him.
“Need a juice break?” Clint asked with a matching smile, stretching his arms above his head until he heard his shoulders pop. Wade nodded eagerly, jumping up and down as Clint went to get him a glass. Desperately wishing he had the same energy as the youth. “So what are you and Lucky playing?”
“Knights and dragons. I’m the knight and I’m fighting the dragon to save Princess Lucky.”
“That sounds fun.”
“Yeah! Do you wanna play Clint? Take a break from studying?” the pup asked, hopeful but not overly so as he chugged his juice. Clint eyed the pup, frowning as he noticed Wade begin to pout and give him puppy eyes in hopes of getting the Omega to agree.
“Alright, I’ll come play in ten minutes, okay? I really do need to finish making these flashcards,” Clint said, rolling his eyes fondly when the pup let out a ‘whoop’. He watched as the tiny blonde scurried back out the door, followed by Lucky chasing him before turning back to his notes.
It was almost about two minutes out of the ten when the Omega suddenly heard a crash outside, followed by the sounds of screaming and barking. Every ounce of sleepiness left him as the now fully alert Omega got up and ran outside to investigate.
Heart racing, his eyes found his pup laying flat on his back, surrounded by tree branches and a whining Lucky.
“Wade??” Clint called, running over and hovering over the pup, frantically looking all over him for signs of injury. The pup took a shaky breath as he carefully cradled his wrist to his chest. “Oh baby what happened?”
“I...I f-fell from the tree,” Wade said, trying and failing to hold back the tears that Lucky then helped lick off. “My wrist really hurts Clint.” The brave pup was crying softly as the Omega gently checked the pup’s wrist over.
“I think you might’ve broken it, we need to get you to a hospital. Does anything else hurt? Can you walk?” Clint asked as he helped his pup stand on his own two feet while making sure the pup wasn’t injured anywhere else.
“Just my wrist,” Wade huffed before bursting into tears, causing the Omega to quickly lift the pup into his arms. Mindful of his wrist, he hoisted Wade on his hip and ran back inside to grab what he needed for the hospital.
“He’ll be fine Lucky, we’ll be back.” Only slightly frantically, Clint ran the two to the car and buckled Wade in while calling his mate.
He let out a frustrated grunt when it went to voicemail.
“Hey, I’m taking Wade to the emergency room. He fell out of the tree in the back and I think he broke his wrist. Meet us there. Or call me back. Love you,” Clint said before hanging up the phone, doing everything in his power to focus on driving and blocking out the sounds of his pup softly crying in the backseat.
While also not feeling like a horrible mom for letting this happen.
Yes, okay logically Clint knows this isn’t his fault, but that knowledge didn’t help him feel any better.
What else didn’t help - was both the lack of response from his mate and the condescending attitude from the ER doctor.
“Yup, this is definitely a hairline fracture. We’ll give him a shot of morphine for the pain and he’ll need a cast for his wrist. I’ll have one of the nurses print out some dos and don’ts for taking care of a cast you can bring back to your Alpha.”
“Oh,” Clint said, holding a still sniffling pup in his lap. “I’m actually in nursing school so that won’t be necessary. Save some trees and all that.”
“Well, isn’t that nice? My Omega’s hobby is online shopping,” the Alpha doctor said with a laugh as Clint felt himself bristle with anger. This wasn’t about him, though, he was here to help his pup out. So he bit his tongue a nurse came in with a morphine shot and printed out pages of how to care for a cast.
Wade wiggled in his grasp, whimpering on his lap as the Omega gently hushed the boy while rubbing his back in comfort.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to try calling your Alpha again?” the doctor asked as the nurse gave Wade his shot, Clint doing everything in his power to not snap at the man. He kissed the pup’s head instead, smiling at the nurse who offered an apologetic smile in return. As she left the room, Clint could feel Wade instantly relax in his arms.
“Feel better puppy?” Clint asked as he gently hugged the boy on his lap, smiling when the pup nodded in response.
“You’re a tough boy, that's for sure. Alright Wade, what color cast would you like?”
“Pink.” Clint should’ve expected it from the ignorant Alpha, but it still surprised him when the Alpha had the audacity to scoff.
“Pink? You sure about that son? Mr. Barnes do you want to check with your Alpha first?” the ugly old Alpha chuckled again. Alright, Clint couldn’t hold it back any longer.
“Why would I need an Alpha’s opinion on my boy’s cast color?” Clint asked rhetorically, glaring at the man who simply rolled his eyes.
“Actually, I want hot pink. And glitter,” Wade said with a huff, impressing the Omega who felt a swell of pride for his boy.
“Glitter isn’t even an option, young man.”
“Then go get me your hottest pink, old man.” Clint held back a chuckle as the Alpha’s face turned comically red.
“That’s no way to speak to an adult. If your Alpha was here I doubt they’d let you speak to me like that!”
“Actually if he was here, he’d probably teach me a curse word for an ugly old man like you!” Clint watched with satisfaction as the doctor struggled to remain his composure, though the blood vessels popping gave away his obvious anger.
“Well, lucky you aren’t my pup then. Back talk like that would earn you a trip over my knee.”
“I’m glad I’m not your pup! If I was your pup I’d probably kill myself!” Wade yelled, hopping off the surprised Omega’s lap with his tiny fists raised. The Alpha looked from the pup to the Omega before his face went from angry to smug.
“Well, congrats on the mother and nurse of the year award. I’ll go grab the tech that will wrap his arm.”
Clint grabbed the pup, gently bringing him back and cradling the injured arm. He wordlessly turned the pup to scent him, calming the two down while they waited.
“I’m thinking chimichangas for dinner tonight. What do you think?” Clint asked after a moment, knowing the reaction it would get out of the pup. It was his favorite food and got the desired ‘whoop!’ out of the boy. The tech that came in was a kind Beta, who enthusiastically showed Wade different pink colors to choose from.
The two blondes were in a great mood when they made their way back home, stopping at the store on the way home to get the ingredients for dinner. While Wade not so subtly put ice cream in the cart, Clint’s phone finally rang with James calling him.
“Abandoned Omega hotline, how can I help you?” Clint snarked, mouthing ‘James’ to Wade when he looked at him curiously.
“My phone died, doll. I’m so sorry. How’s our pup doing?”
“He’s good, got a bright pink cast for the hairline fracture on his wrist. He’s currently sneaking chocolate syrup into the cart along with some moose tracks ice cream.”
“What??” Wade asked after dropping the syrup next to the ice cream. “I only have one hand Clint how could I do that?” The Omega chuckled at the mischievous look on the pup’s face and the sound of his mate laughing on the phone.
“We’re getting stuff so you can make chimichangas. Will you be home soon?”
“I’m home with Lucky now with my phone plugged in.”
“Okay well, we’ll head that way. Love you.”
“Love you too.” Clint put the phone back in his pocket as he led the two to checkout.
“Clint?” Wade asked as they put the groceries on the belt.
“Yeah pup?”
“Why didn’t you tell James about the mean doctor?”
“Well...I mean I hate to tell you this, pup, but that wasn’t my first time being talked down to for being an Omega. Just let it go. And don't bring it up, okay?” Wade remained quiet as they finished their transaction and loaded the groceries before driving back home. Even though he was injured, the pup insisted on carrying a bag - which Clint could only smile when he realized the bag was the one with the sweets.
“Hey!” his mate called out as they made their way inside. “Wade how are you feeling, puppy?” the Alpha asked as he walked over and inspected the cast.
“Better.”
“What were you doing up in a tree?”
“I was playing knights and dragons with Lucky, except that time I was the princess up in the castle.”
“Ah, yes, that makes sense. Hey doll, you doing okay?” James asked as he took some of the bags from Clint and kissed the Omega’s cheek.
“I’m fine,” Clint replied as he began to unpack some of the groceries.
“No he’s not,” Wade said under his breath as Clint turned to him in shock.
“Wait, what?” James asked as Clint felt a slight flair of panic shoot up his spine.
“Wade -”
“- the doctor was mean to him, James! Just cause he’s an Omega!”
“Wade!” Clint snapped, shocked at this pup’s behavior. “What are you doing?”
“It’s not right, Clint!” the pup snapped back with his own anger, puffing his tiny chest out for emphasis. “That Alpha was a jerk! He said nursing was a nice hobby for an Omega,” Wade said, now directed towards the Alpha.
Clint went through a range of emotions as he watched his pup explain in detail what the ignorant doctor had said to them. At first he was mad with the defiant pup, but he eventually settled on awe at the sheer veracity of the boy’s protectiveness towards Clint.
This wasn’t a kid obnoxiously defying authority.
This was a pup protectively arguing on behalf of his Omega parent.
Clint’s frown turned into a small smile as he watched the two get angry over the story.
“That ignorant dipshit said that?” James asked, listening intently.
“James!” Clint snapped at his mate, hating that he constantly had to remind him not to curse in front of their foster son. The Alpha looked properly chastised at that, while the pup just bounced with excitement.
“He said if my Alpha was there he wouldn’t let me talk back to him. And I said! I said if you were there you would’ve taught me curse words to use against that dipshit!” Clint continued glaring at the Alpha who kept staring at the ceiling while the pup talked.
“You see what you did?” the Omega asked his Alpha in faux offense, not truly angry given the earlier revelation.
Cause regardless of how hard this was or how scared he might be - he’s a mom now.
A mom with a family of his very own.