5 Times Clint Slipped Into Daddy Mode In Front of the Avengers...

+1.

Clint wasn't sure what to expect. For years, he had kept his family a secret; he had even hidden them away on a farm so far off the grid they had to pump their water and rely on a generator for electricity. But his team had taken a beating, and they had to go somewhere safe to regroup. As he piloted the quinjet through the night, Clint tried to think of anywhere else he could take them, but nothing came to mind.

And that was how the Avengers ended up walking through the front door of his "safe house." At least, that's what they thought it was up until when Cooper and Lila hurtled into the foyer. Breaking into a smile, Clint swept them into his arms, almost forgetting his teammates were there. He was home, and that was all that mattered.

But, even then, Clint knew he had some (okay, a lot of) explaining to do. He also knew, at some point, his teammates would force the issue. At least he saw the confrontation coming a country mile away; during breakfast, Stark kept glancing at him, clearly trying to be subtle but failing miserably. So Clint wasn't surprised when he suddenly set his fork down (with piece of pancake still stuck on it too) and declared, "You know what? This explains everything."

Clint arched an eyebrow, interested to hear what conclusions Stark had jumped to. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Banner broke in, and Clint smiled in relief at the sound of his voice because he had been speaking in five-word-or-less sentences since they arrived on the farm. "Once, when I was working late in the lab, you kept pestering me about coming to dinner, and then you left me a sandwich…"

"Aw, come on, all I got was a 'think about your life and your choices' talk," Stark whined. Then, he turned to Rogers, a disconcertingly mischievous glint in his eyes, and asked, "How about you, Spangles? Did he slip into daddy mode around you too?"

"Daddy mode?" Clint trailed off when Natasha almost spit up her orange juice from laughing so hard. He shot her a look, begging her to back him up, but she shook her head as if to say, "Didn't I warn you?"

To Clint's amazement, Rogers cracked a wry smile and deadpanned, "If you're team dad, doesn't that mean you should take us out for pizza after missions?"

Clint was saved from having to answer that question by Lila, who appeared in the kitchen doorway and demanded to know why he was late to their tea party. To their credit, his teammates waited until after they left the room to bust up laughing.

Later that night, as he and Laura sat on the couch watching Steve and Natasha color with Lila and Tony and Bruce build a Lego Avengers Tower with Cooper, Clint realized he'd never regret bringing his two families together.

Not even if his teammates held him to taking them out for pizza.

Thanks for reading! I hope it was worth the wait! I sincerely apologize for the long delay; I actually moved and got a new job in the last month so I've been pretty swamped.

Obviously, this is the end of the story, but I could be convinced to write vignettes about the other Avenger (who presumably don't know Clint is a father) after this chapter if there's demand for it. I have a concept for Pietro that I really like, but I'm not sure if people want me to continue this. As a reminder, since it's been awhile since I've updated, I intentionally keep chapters 500 words or less (I'm practicing distilling stories to their essence).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. If you did, drop a review and give it a favorite or a follow! I LOVE hearing from people, and it really inspires me to keep writing. Until next time. ~Moore12