(January 18th, 2017)
Paxton
"You can't do this!!" I shout, watching as Mom packs her suitcase.
"Pax, I'm just leaving. It's not the end of the world," Mom says, zipping up her suitcase and walking out the door.
"You don't understand," I whine, following her downstairs.
"Then help me understand," She says, placing the suitcases in the car.
"You're always gone on missions!!" I complain.
"It's my job, baby," She says, ruffling my hair.
"Yeah, well, your job sucks," I mumble while Mom chuckles and ruffles my hair again.
"You and Lila seem to be getting along," Mom says, changing the subject.
"Don't change the subject," I warn.
"Where's Peter?" She questions, shrugging when she sees my face.
"It's one of my traits, baby," She says.
"He, Cooper, and Uncle Clinton went fishing or something," I mumble.
"I'll get you a treat when I come back, OK, baby?" Mom questions, ruffling my hair.
"Whatever," I mumble.
"Don't be grouchy for Aunt Laura, alright?" She questions, and I nod.
"Two days," She whispers before heading out the door.
"Two days, my ass," I whispered, earning a slap from behind.
"Watch your language," Laura says, and I quickly nod.
"Lila's outside. Go play with her," She says, noticing my boredom.
I sigh but head outside and see Lila practicing with a bow. A smile creeps on my face, and I rush to her, picking up another bow. Lila kept staring at me, but I ignored it as we shot arrows for 5 minutes. It was safe to say Lila was crushing me, hitting more bullseye than me.
"Why do you think our parents are always on a mission?" I question missing the bullseye.
"Your footing's wrong," Lila comments, putting the bow down.
I glance at her in confusion before looking at my feet. My footing was wrong. Lila, behind me, changes my footing before lining up the bow with the target. I pulled the string back and then released and watched as the arrow flew, hitting the bullseye. She smiles at me, going back to hitting the target.
"Do you think Fury's pushing them too hard?" I questioned, releasing another arrow.
"My dad said that S.H.I.E.L.D's not like that, and they would never push anyone too far," Lila states, putting her bow down.
"Although, those two have been on more missions these past two years," Lila comments.
"Let's go ask my Mom," Lila says, running toward the back door.
I followed her, and we bumped into Laura, who was opening the door.
"Dinner's ready," She tells us, heading to the kitchen.
"Hey, Mom?" Lila asks.
"Yeah, sweetie?" Laura questions.
"Why are Auntie Nat and Dad always on Missions?" She questions, sitting down at the table.
Laura sighs before answering.
"It's a surprise party for Clint's brother in two weeks," She tells us.
"Uncle Clint has a brother!?" I exclaim, looking at Laura, confused.
"I thought he was a bad brother?" Lila questioned.
"He said that so you kids would stop bothering him," Laura says.
"Enough," She says as my mouth is about to open.
I quickly shove my mouth with food to stop me from talking. Laura and Lila look at me in disgust, and I shrug, scooping another spoonful into my mouth. Lila shudders and looks away while Laura rolls her eyes and turns on a show. I finish my plate, heading upstairs to wait in Lila's room.
"Do you think it's a surprise party?" I questioned as Lila walked into the room.
"If your Dad took Cooper and Peter out fishing, does that mean they know?" I ask, watching as Lila turns on a movie.
"Why are you so paranoid?" Lila questions, and I shrug, focusing my attention on the screen.
"It's weird!!" I complain, bellyflopping on the floor.
"No, you're thinking about it too hard," Lila says, increasing the volume.
"Oh sure, tune me out," I say, unlocking my phone.
"Hey, dimwit," She says, throwing a plushie at me.
I rub my head before looking at the screen where she's pointing. I gasp in excitement, making a nest on the floor.
"I love Civil War!!!" I exclaim.
We were halfway through when there was a shout downstairs. I looked at Lila, who looked confused. She grabbed her bow, and I slowly opened the doors. I checked my ways before spotting Nathaniel, who was......laughing? Confused, I walked closer and saw him being tickled.
"Uncle bahahaharney gehehehet pahahahaxton," Nathaniel giggled.
I had two seconds before I was tackled to the ground and tickled to death. Unlucky for me, he went for my ribs and stomach first. If I make it out of her alive, Nathaniel is dead meat.
"Nohohoho nohohohot thehehehe rihihihihibs," I giggled, squirming side to side.
"You're a slimy one, aren't you?" The man questioned.
I shook my head before squealing with laughter when his fingers found my belly button.
"GEHEHEHET OHOHOHOUT OHOHOHOF THEHEHERE!!" I yelled, trying to push his hand away from my belly.
"STOHOHOHOP!!! PLEHEHEHEASE!!" I squealed, giving up on the fight.
The man stops and offers me his hand. I take his hand, and he pulls me up, tickling me in the armpit instead.
"NOHOHOHO!!" I yelled, trying to fall backward.
He stops and puts his hand out instead.
"I'm Barney. Clint's older brother," He says.
"Can you be my older brother too?" I questioned, and he shrugged.
"Don't you have Peter as an older brother?" He questions, waving to Laura, who walks past us.
"Yeah, but he's never stopped or been gentle when tickling me," I clarify.
"If you want, I'll be your brother," He says, waiting for my name.
"Paxton," I say
"Paxton Romanoff," I tell him.
"I'll be your brother, Paxton Romanoff," He says, bringing me in for a hug.
"And is this beautiful lady behind you, Lila?" He questions, and she nods.
Barney brings her in for a hug before pulling away and motioning for us to huddle together. We comply, and he starts whispering.
"Clint doesn't know I'm here yet," He starts, and all three of us nod.
"The surprise party is actually for Clint," He clarifies.
"Your Mom was sent on a mission, so she didn't see us in the making of the party," Barney says, pointing at me.
"Cooper and Peter are distracting Clint," He finishes.
"How long are you staying?" I question, breaking out of the huddle.
"Long enough to surprise Clint and maybe a month or so," He says.
"Are you providing for the family, or are you here because of something else?" I questioned, and he shrugged.
"Leaning more to the second one," He answers.
"But, If I wanted to, I could provide for this family," He adds at the end.
"Yeah, sure," I smirk.
"You're on thin ice, mister," He strictly says.
"You're so old," I jokingly say.
"Thin ice, man," He says, holding his fingers together.
"Do you see any ice, Lila, Nathaniel?" I question.
"That's it!!" He declares, tackling me to the ground again.
This time, he calls for Lila to hold my arms.
"You're a traitor!!" I scream at Lila as she holds my arms.
"I'm sorry, Barney," I smile innocently.
He smiles back before digging his hands into my armpits. I buck wildly and scream for help loudly. Barney smiles more before lifting my shirt and wiggling his fingers above my bare skin. I start shaking my head wildly while he's still wiggling his fingers above. Then he drops his fingers, and they scribble and poke at my bare skin.
"NOHOHOHOHO!!" I scream, bucking my hips.
Barney sits on my hips to avoid that.
"I'M SOHOHOHORRY!! PLEHEHEHASE!!" I screech, pulling as hard as I can to free my hands, which works.
"Dammit, Lila, I thought you had him," Barney mutters before sliding up and using his knees to hold my hands up.
"I'll BEHEHEHE GOHOHOHOOD!! I PROHOHOHOHOMISE!!" I scream, bucking so hard Barney falls off.
I take that as my chance to run away. And by running away, I mean running to Laura and Clint's room for protection.
"Laura!! Save me!!" I cried out, opening the bedroom door.
"Come here, baby," She says, holding her arms out.
I quickly rush into her arms, burying my face in her neck. She runs her hands up and down my back.
"Is Barney being a bully?" She questions as Barney quickly runs in.
I nod my head and watch as Barney's face turns confused.
"He's lying, Laura. You've got to get him for that," Barney says.
I look at Laura in shock and move to get off her lap, but she pulls me back and slips her fingers under my shirt. Her fingers moved in circular directions all over my stomach. Barney comes over a couple of seconds later and grabs my feet.
"NOHOHOHO FAHAHAHAIR!!" I whined, still trying to get out of Laura's lap.
Eventually, I gave up on escaping and just sat there as they tickled me to pieces for three minutes.
"Do you think he's learned his lesson!!" Barney calls over my loud laughter.
"We should go for the grand finale," Laura says, and Barney complies.
They switch sides, so now Laura's at the bottom and Barney's at the top. I curled my toes, thinking she was going for my feet, but instead, she lifted my shirt and brought her head down. I gasped in surprise before screaming with laughter. Laura's too good at tickling, which is unfair to me and to her kids.
Laura gets off me, and Barney and her walk downstairs, leaving me panting in the bed. Two minutes later, I regain my breath and walk downstairs, where the others are watching a series.
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A/N: Sorry I've been gone so long, but I had the funeral for my grandma yesterday. Sadly, I have to live with nine boys and three other girls. And then I found out we might have to move to make room for everybody, even though I'm starting a life where I am. Hopefully, before the school year ends, this book will be finished. It took me an hour to write this with no breaks, which is surprising. And it's a long chapter. Proofread by Grammarly cuz we love Grammarly.
BYE-BYE POOKIES!!
HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR DAY!!!
Word Count: 1614