•••
"You got hit?! How bad was it? Are you okay?"
"Hey, everything's fine. Dr Cho fixed me right up" Clint said from the other side of the phone. My legs felt weak at the sudden idea of losing him, forcing me to sit down.
"What happened?"
"There was a fast person, an enhanced, he distracted me long enough to miss the turret gun - but we got the sceptre"
"I'm guessing they want you straight back on the team" I sighed, resting my hand on my forehead to cool myself down "I swear you're giving me grey hairs"
"I'm honestly fine, you won't be able to tell the difference. Promise"
"10 dollars says you're wrong"
"Okay" he laughed.
"Then it's a bet, prepare to lose sucker"
"I think you should be telling yourself that missus"
"Where were you again?"
"Stark tower"
"You answer to Tony now?"
"That's a negative, I answer to you"
"Damn right you do" I chuckled, "I'm guessing you're using that tone because someone's near you?"
"Yes ma'am"
"Okay, Speak to you soon. Send Tasha my love"
I could hear some voices in the background.
"Gotta go"
•••
The next call I got from Clint was less reassuring. I was sat with Cooper watching High School Musical 2 (I had introduced him to it earlier that week and he had threatened to fight me if I revealed his new guilty pleasure) whilst Lila was asleep upstairs. The ringtone made us both jump.
"Hello?"
"Grace oh thank god. I won't be able to talk for very long. Tony's made a murder bot and its trying to kill us. He's escaped through the internet so I'm contacting you whilst I can. I'll be okay but if you don't hear from me for a while, I'm fine" he rushed
"Okay, we love you" I replied in an equally rushed tone, my brain not yet fully comprehending what I had just been told.
"I love you too. Grace I've go-"
The line disconnected, leaving me with a horrible feeling in my stomach.
"Was that Dad?" Cooper asked, turning back to face the screen.
"Yeah, he just wanted to say that he loves you both and that we'll see him soon"
Cooper nodded, his eyes focused back on Troy's hissy fit.
As I sat there my mind wandered off.
Murder Bot. Kill.
"Oh lord"
I ran through millions of possibilities in my mind, almost not noticing the credits rolling on the movie.
"Okay, bed time young man"
"Can't I watch one more" he whined, throwing his head onto my shoulder dramatically.
"You can watch Gabriella dancing tomorrow. Let's go"
He groaned, but obliged anyway, trudging up the stairs and into the bathroom to brush his teeth. I hummed 'Bet On It' as I waited, leaning against the wall and drumming the beat on my stomach.
Cooper came out with a grin, starting to sing quietly, cautious of his sleeping sister.
"It's no good at all, to see yourself and not recognise your face"
"Out on my own, it's such a scary place" I joined in, overacting as I hit the high note, doing the arm thing that singers do "oooooooh"
"The answers are all inside of me, all I gotta do" Cooper sang, taking a deep breath before hitting the high note, "is believe!"
We looked at each other, before banging our heads to the chorus, Cooper copying Troy's dramatic water flick.
"I'm not gonna stop, not gonna stop til I get my shot. That's who I am, that is my plan, will I end up on top - you can, bet on it"
And that is how we ended up dancing goofily on the landing at 10pm on a school night to the high school musical 2 soundtrack.
•••
A/N: you know what's next 😋