Chapter 3
The first thing Tony noticed when he walked in the room was that there was a child clinging to Clint like he was holding on for dear life. The second thing he noticed was that the kid's eyes were literally everywhere, taking in everything from the safety of Clint's arms. Those eyes were far too wary for Tony's liking. No small child should look so wary of the world around them.
"You're not part of the usual spy possy." Tony noted, and the boy actually grinned at him.
"You're Tony Stark. You make robot suits." He looked at Clint. "Can I see?" Before Clint could answer, Tony cut in.
"I'll make you a deal, kid. I'll show you the suit if you let me scan you with it." They stared at each other in solemn silence before the boy finally spoke.
"Do I have to go inside the machine?" He asked, and Tony shook his head.
"Nope. Only one allowed inside the suit is me. You don't even have to touch it, though it is pretty cool so you're allowed to touch if you want." The boy thought it over, little brow scrunched in a frown. Then the frown cleared and he nodded.
"Okay. No touching."
"You got it kid." Tony grinned. "Jarvis."
"Right away, sir." When he didn't move Stiles frowned, but the moment he opened his mouth to ask, the pieces of the suit shot through the air, attaching themselves to each other and Stark. Nobody missed the awed gasp and Clint grinned at how wide the kid's eyes were.
"Put me down please." Stiles asked, and Clint obliged, though he followed as Stiles scurried over to Stark. "Wow." He said, circling the suit a couple of times, Tony turning ever so slightly to follow his progress. The faceplate came up and he smirked.
"Pretty cool, right?" Stiles nodded and then his face got pinched with anxiety.
"You can do the scan now."
"Already done, kid." Stiles looked up in surprise.
"Really?"
"Yup." And Tony popped the p. "No touch. Just like I said."
"But the other doctors-" he paused, and they all watched as he reflexively curled in on himself. "They wanted blood." Tony shrugged.
"Those doctors think they need everything. I don't need your blood unless you want to give it to me."
"Why?"
"Well you see there should be all sorts of things in your blood like data on your immune system, age, DNA, diet. What else do we need to know?" Stiles looked back at Clint then back at Stark.
"I don't remember how I got to where Clint found me."
"Well if they gave you anything that affected your memory it would also be in your blood."
"That's a lot." Stiles admitted, and Tony shrugged.
"I can figure it out either way. It would just be faster."
"I don't like needles."
"Why?" The boy's whole body shuddered, and if that wasn't alarming enough, the boy rubbed at his neck.
"They hurt. And the big ones leave marks." With only a thought, Tony stepped out of the suit, hunkering down in front of the kid.
"Look. I'll make you a deal. You let me take some blood - two little bottles this big." He showed his pinky. "And I promise we won't let anyone else even come close to you with a needle. And hey my buddy Bruce and I use really small needles cause we don't like needles either. Clint neither. He runs away and hides in the ceiling." That got a giggle and a shy glance back at Clint who shrugged, unable to deny it.
"Can I hide in the ceiling if I really don't like it?"
"Course, kiddo. As long as you hide with Clint. Deal?" Stiles nodded, sticking out his hand, and amused, Tony gave it a brief shake before standing and offering Stiles his hand again.
"Come on, everything's in my lab. You'll love it. There's robots everywhere, isn't that right, Jarvis."
"It is correct that master Stark is incapable of keeping order and his prototypes cover every surface." Even as Stiles giggled, Bruce wandered his way into the lab only to find the four of them there, and he blinked in surprise. He hadn't known that there was a child here, and from the looks of him, a very injured child.
“Bruce! Perfect timing. I was just telling Stiles that we have all the best, smallest needles for taking blood cause he was worried.”
“Well, it only makes sense. After all, if we don't use the small ones, Clint ends up in the ceiling.” the words had Clint huffing out a breath but Tony just grinned.
“See, told you.” Bruce wandered closer and couldn't help but wonder then if the boy had been brought here without S.H.I.E.L.D.'s permission but it just had him feeling fond. Only their team would keep bringing in strays, and he included himself in that category.
“You're lucky Tony is here. He has the steadiest hands.” Bruce said, though now he was taking stock of the boy, noticing the shoulder that was just healing, the purple bruises that disappeared under Clint's shirt that the boy was wearing. He watched as Tony carefully slid the needle under Stiles' skin, who didn't even really react except with a slight frown, and so Bruce drew his attention.
“What's your favourite food?” he asked mildly, and Stiles looked away from the needle to look up at him.
“Spaghetti.” he said firmly, and Bruce nodded.
“Spaghetti is a good choice. You're in luck. The best spaghetti is made at a restaurant down the street. Are you hungry?” Stiles nodded, blinking in surprise even as Tony took the needle from his arm.
“A little.” he was shifting on the bench towards Clint then, who obliged him by lifting his arm, letting the boy cuddle into his side. Bruce realized then that it must have been Clint who found him, wherever he'd been.
“Jarvis, you heard him, he'd like some spaghetti. Make it the usual.”
“Right away sir.” Jarvis responded, and the disembodied voice had Stiles startling. “My apologies for startling you, Stiles. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Jarvis, Mr. Stark's Artificial Intelligence interface. If you require anything during your stay here, you need only ask.” they all watched Stiles' expression relax into awe as he grinned up at the ceiling.
“Thanks Jarvis!” they all watched as Stiles turned to Clint now, tugging him closer so he could whisper to the archer. Whatever the words were, Clint smirked and scooped Stiles into his arms and was off. The last thing the rest of them saw was the lightning grin that lit up the boys whole face.
It took a couple of hours for Clint and Stiles to reappear from the vents, and it was only because Stiles was practically falling asleep in Clint's arms. They appeared in the common room, where Natasha and Tony were discussing Stiles' condition while Bruce was in the lab testing the boy's blood.
“I didn't realize climbing through the vents was so tiring.” Tony noted, and Clint just shot him a look.
“I'm going to put him on my floor to sleep, let me know if you find anything before then though.”
“What about Cap?” Tony asked then, making him pause in his step. “And Barnes?” Clint winced, looking down at Stiles dosing in his arms as he considered the reforming assassin who didn't do well with surprises.
“We'll deal with them as they come.” Natasha responded for him, and Clint nodded.
“Yeah, what Nat said.” with that, he was off, and Natasha turned back to Tony.
“Bruce and I were talking before I came back up here, and whoever it was holding the kid, they pulled just short of permanent damage. But he should be out for the count. No normal kid would be able to move through that pain. His tolerance is ridiculously high.” Natasha nodded, she'd suspected as much but it was hard to swallow. That tiny, fragile boy didn't look like he should be able to take anything at all but he'd taken what many adults would have folded under. It was no surprise Clint felt so protective of him - and that the feeling was extending to the rest of them.