Work Text:
Clint helps Natasha to the house, hoping with every step that he won't have to fight his team while keeping his kids safe and holding his best friend up at the same time. He could do it, he was an excellent multi-tasker, he just really (REALLY) hopes he doesn't have to.
"What is this place?" Thor asks as Clint opens the front door.
"It's a safe house," Tony quips looking the place over carefully. "A place for super secret agents to go to, you know, feel safe."
"Honey, I'm home!" Clint calls into the house, looking for his partner. 'Crap! Hopefully the baby hasn't been keeping everyone up all night.'
"I brought company," he continues still looking for his partner. "Sorry, I didn't call ahead."
'Please don't rush out from behind the wall and try and kill everyone. Please, oh, please, oh, please.'
From out of the kitchen, holding a baby and covered in baby formula, comes Bucky. He looks the group over warily as he rocks the content infant in his arms. Steve stares, gob-smacked, at his old war buddy as Clint gives the man a quick hug and gently caresses the baby's head.
"This is an agent of some kind," Tony remarks to Thor, frowning at the man and baby. The Asgardian nods without really hearing him.
"Incoming," Bucky comments as the two older children come barreling into the room. It's a young boy and little girl, both of whom waste no time running into the archer's arms.
"Those are smaller agents," Tony weakly adds, growing more and more confused. Bruce is huddling closer and closer to the wall as the children cling to their father. Steve keeps staring at Bucky.
"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" the little girl asks hopefully.
Natasha walks out from behind the group and her face opens into a smile, "Why don't you hug her and find out?"
"Bucky," Steve finally speak while the red-head hugs her adopted niece. He looks from the baby in the man's arms to his face. "What? Why? How are you here?"
"Wait, you know this guy?" Tony jerks his thumb at the man. "Did you also know about Legolas's secret hidden family? I feel as though this should have been brought up during team bonding."
"Fury helped me set this up," Clint explains, making sure to keep himself in between the two old war heroes. "No one else knows about this place and I'd like to keep it that way.
"But, Bucky," Captain America vaguely motions to the Winter Soldier.
"Yeah, he..." Clint looks over to the man who looks devoid of emotion. "He saved me."
"If you want to know more," Natasha purposely looks to the children. "I think we can have that conversation a little later?"
Steve nods in understanding as Thor quickly slides the broken Lego house under the coffee table.
"How long are you and your friends staying, Dad?" the young boy looks up at Clint. "Bucky said that we could make a pizza cake the next time you can stay for a few days. Are you staying for a few days, Dad? Are you?"
"Yeah, buddy," Clint ruffles his son's hair. "And you know what? I think a pizza cake sounds awesome."
"How's little Natasha?" Nat asks, putting her 'niece' down -but not letting go of her hand- as she walks over to the other super soldier.
"She's fine," Bucky states plainly, tilting his arms so that the red-head could see the baby easier. As the woman leans in closer to smile at the baby, Bucky whispers, "You know he wants to name her Laura, after her mother."
"I know," she whispers back sadly, looking over to her best friend. "I know."
---
Thor makes his excuses and leaves the group. Nobody stops him.
Bruce goes upstairs to shower and Natasha watches him leave with desire in her eyes, but she remains at Clint's side as he addresses the last two Avengers still waiting for an answer.
Little Natasha is asleep in the baby's room and the other two are running around outside. There are five, steaming cups of coffee on the dining room table but only Tony is drinking.
"So..." Tony loudly slurps his beverage. "Why don't you explain how you've hidden your domestic side and why Steve is pining for your life partner?"
"I'm not pining, Tony."
"I'm surprised you know what that word means, Cap."
"I've been Googling a lot."
"Guys," Clint addresses the two tiredly. "It's not that complicated a story, really."
"Which coming from you means it's excruciatingly complicated," the billionaire quips, getting a smack from Nat and two hard glares from the war heroes. "What?"
"I met Bucky on a few missions," Clint continues. "He saved me from a bad scrape once and I repaid him in kind."
Tony opens his mouth to say something but Natasha hits him again and he changes his mind.
"I didn't see him for a while after that, until he passed out a few miles from here and I brought him home."
"You brought him home?" Tony blurts out. Natasha grabs a stray towels and wraps it tightly around her fist. The billionaire swallows nervously and resumes drinking.
"He was hurt. I didn't know who he was at the time. I didn't have the clearance or the curiosity to find out," Clint smiles fondly to the other man who is resolutely staring ahead like a proper soldier on duty. "I kept him in the barn. Made sure Laura, she's-was my wife," he clears his throat before pushing forwards. "I made sure the kids stayed in the house while I took care of him. I couldn't just let him die and I knew he did the sort of things I did, so I couldn't bring him to the hospital or anything like that."
"Don't hit me!" Tony warns Natasha. "This is a legitimate question."
The assassin allows the man to continue.
"So how did you go form being a nurse to the man's other half, or?" Tony looks between the two. "Is he just some stay-at-home, ex-military, super soldier nanny?"
"Clint gave me a second chance." All eyes focus on Bucky as he looks over to Clint. "He was the first person to show me kindness during my missions and after I was freed from my masters, he took me in without question."
"Then when my wife died," the archer adds. "He ended up saving me."
Steve smiles as his old friend nods to his new one. The man he knew as Bucky, who was tortured into becoming the Winter Soldier, had found a life hidden away from the word that was trying to manipulate him. He had found a family to take care of and who would take care of him in return.
He had never been so happy and relieved at the same time. Especially not since the arrival of Ultron.
"Ultron," Steve frowns as he says the name. "What are we going to do about him?"
"Oh, I'm sure we'll come up with something classy and fantastic to solve this latest and most annoying Avengers problem," Tony waves away the issue as if it hadn't beaten them several times over the past few days. "Just give me a few hours in this secret world of Barton, and I'm sure to come up with something."
Natasha whips the billionaire with the towel before returning it to the counter where she got it.
"Why are you beating on me? I don't think I really deserve it. Cap, tell the assassin to stop hitting this world's only hope."
"Please," Natasha rolls her eyes as she stands. "You're no Obi-Wan."
"I was told not to watch that film series," Steve comments as the woman leaves to go upstairs. "But I've seen the Memes!"
"What's a Meme?" Bucky asks softly.
Tony puts his head in his hands with a groan, "Not another one..."
---