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“I’m not a kid” Clint grumbled out,
Sitting on the oversized couches of the communal floor, Clint buried his face into his knees. Ever since his diagnosis and his ever-growing distaste for being treated like a child as the team tries to help him with adjusting.
Coming back after 5 years alongside with new biology, the tole that it’s taken on Clint’s psyche was not a light one.
“Cl---t”
Why did it have to be this way, why did stuff like this always happen to him
“----o,”
First the tantrum he threw in front of Tony, the only person being able to calm him down being Katie, and n…now-
“Cl——- B—-on”
They all treated him like a little kid now! Not letting him watch what he wanted to watch saying it was ‘not mature for his age, regulating his sle-
A hand entered Clint’s peripheral vision causing him to look up, Natasha stood in-front of him face full of worry that made Clint’s stomach drop in guilt
She spoke again, “Are —— hearing —-off?”
Clint nodded sheepishly, Natasha quickly switching to signing
“Hearing break?”
“Yeah, too loud”
“It’s okay, hungry?”
Clint shook his head, “Eat later”
“No, you need to eat”
Clint glared at her, “Why ask, when you are just going to force me”
“—- ha—-‘t eaten —-nce —-“
“I don’t care”
“You ca— e-ther ---me eat or ---”
He buried his head back into his knees, “no, no, no, I’m not hungry” Clint was tired, he just wanted to sleep. Sleep off the hunger pains he didn’t want to admit that were there, when all of a sudden Clint felt himself being lifted into the air. The sudden movement made Clint’s heart jump in his throat as he looked straight at Nat whose face filled with surprise as she lifted her hands up,
“---!”
Natasha’s reaction was what it took for the tears to start to swell up in his eyes, when he was suddenly flipped around facing the culprit, Tony Stark,
“Now--- ---n’t --- li---” Tony said, settling Clint on his hip, walking the man over to the table, Natasha following after him, probably yelling at the man to put Clint down. Clint felt his heart beating in his chest, the sudden movement with no warning and words he couldn’t make out were the final straw for Clint to break down.
Crying loudly into Tony’s shoulder, “Down! Down!”
“-------”
He wanted down, why wasn’t Tony letting him down, his head hurt. Clint knew they were talking, could feel it in the air even without looking, the way Tony’s throat bobbed up and down and jostled him around told him the man was arguing with someone, most likely Nat.
A soft hand pushed his head up slowly causing Clint to flinch from the sudden contact, his vision blurry from the tears but he could make out that signature purple headband.
Kate.
“K-Katie!” Clint shouted, not able to regulate his volume with his hearing aids off causing Tony to cover his ears in pain,
“Clint, what’s wrong?”
“Down!”
Clint watched as Kate talked to Tony, pointing towards the ground and the man speaking something in return. After they go back and forth, Clint not bothering trying to read their lips too tired to care, the man put Clint down on one of the chairs of the dining table. Kate pointed at the pair then to the exit where Clint observed them leave through. Kate made her way towards the man, sitting down next to him tapping him on the shoulder,
“Better now?”
Sniffling softly now, Clint nodded his head solemnly,
“What happened?”
Lifting up shaky hands Clint signed back, “Got scared”
“Tony scared you?”
Clint nodded back, “Couldn’t hear him…..Sorry” He knew he made a scene, Kate probably got an alert from FRIDAY telling her that he was distressed and he pulled her away from whatever she was doing. She shouldn’t have to do this. Deal with his tantrums just because he can’t control his emotions.
“Why are you apologizing?” Kate asked making sure Clint could see her mouth,
“I-I….- I was making a scene again,” Clint swallowed heavily, “I-I don’t like it Katie! You shouldn’t have to do this…” He looked down avoiding eye contact
Kate grabbed his chin pulling Clint’s face back towards her, “Clint, you’re my partner. Understand? What you go through, I go through. Two ways.”
“B-But, Katie-“
“No, Clint. I’m a caregiver, it’s not a burden. I speak my mind, if I didn’t like it, I would’ve told you”
Clint couldn’t help but smile at her statement, many times Kate’s done exactly that, told him straight to his face when she didn’t like something. He lifted his hand to sign something before he felt his stomach rumble, Kate’s face told him it was probably loud
Kate laughed quickly signing, “Hungry?”
“Yes!” Clint shouted more loudly than he intended to, he went to get up but was quickly led back down on his chair,
“I got ---t” Kate said making her way towards the kitchen. Clint wanted to tell her he could make his own lunch but he fought against his instincts. Favoring resting his upper body on the table watching Katie cook. Slowly Clint moved to turn his hearing aids back on, now content with it just being Kate and him.
“Katie” Clint called out, drawing each syllable in a slight whine,
“I’m almost done Clint, just need to serve it!” Kate called back out
“What is it!” Clint sat up in his seat, his stomach grumbling in excitement. Kate walked over with two bowls, setting down a glass bowl and a plastic bowl. Clint knew which one was his but didn’t want to believe it.
Kate came around when Clint needed it the most. Tantrums. Nightmares. The occasional time-outs Nat put him in against his will. Though she could never stay long, busy with her next case and taking care of the apartment while Clint was out on leave adjusting to his new biology. Kate never baby-talked him, that’s probably what calmed him down so quick, she talked to him like she always did. So this plastic bowl, the edges turned flat to display a spiderman pattern all along the rim, had Clint feeling like a kid.
Even more so after seeing what she had made him, Mac n Cheese. Clint loved Mac n Cheese, eating it any time he got the chance but after the news of his new biology, he’s avoided it. If he eats it, it just proves that he really is a kid! He’s not a kid!
The fork that was shoved in his hand said otherwise. A matching spiderman fork was given to him, the handle big for Little’s who had a hard time gripping. Clint could grip just fine, thank you very much.
“Mac n Cheese, Clint, you’re favorite” Kate said smiling sitting down next to the man
Clint pushed his bowl away, “I’m not a kid, Katie”
Kate just blinked towards Clint, confusion evident on her face until it clicked, “Of course you aren’t Clint” She pushed his bowl back towards him, “But you are a Little, from what I hear from Nat you need these bowls so you don’t break them by accident”
“I won’t break a regular bowl, Katie!” Clint argued back
“I know you wouldn’t but what Nat says goes, hmm?”
“No!” Clint pushed the bowl back again
“Clint. C’mon don’t be like that” Kate grabbed the bowl, placing it down in front of Clint once again, “Eat. You’re hungry.”
Clint didn’t like this; Kate was acting just like Nat! This wasn’t fair why did he have to eat in this stupid bowl just because he’s broken a few. It’s not like it was on purpose he was just trying to get the spaghetti out of his bowl, it’s not his fault the bowl flew off the table.
“No! Real bowl, Katie, I want to eat in a real bowl!”
“Clint, that is a real bowl”
At this Clint once again pushed his bowl this time with a little bit more force causing the bowl to tip over and roll off the table with a thump
“Clinton Francis Barton!” Kate gasped out; the mac n cheese now spewed all over the floor.
The man’s lip starting to wobble as tears started to form, “K-Katie, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay, bubba, it’s okay”
Clint shook his head, why’d he have to do that? Couldn’t he control his emotions for a single second!
“Clint you see what happened? We’re lucky it wasn’t a glass bowl, huh?”
“I…I’m sorry, Katie”
“I said it was okay, Clint and I mean it”
“…..really?”
“Yes, here” Kate got up picking up the fallen bowl, leaving the scraps for Lucky to lick up, “I’ll get you some more”
She placed a new bowl in front of him, this one decorated with Cap’s shield, Clint had to bite back excitement from seeing the shield, his spiderman fork still in his hand tightly as he gave into hunger.
“See? It’s good, isn’t it?”